French siege ends with suspect gunman's death

The dramatic 32-hour siege of a suspected gunman has ended after French armed police stormed the apartment where he was holed out.

Mohammed Merah, a 23-year-old Frenchman of Algerian origin, died after being hit by a sniper bullet as he jumped from the window of his flat.

The man claimed he was trying to 'bring France to its knees' by murdering seven people, including children.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said the hunt is on to see if he had help - and to find out why he wasn't caught earlier.

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from Toulouse in southern France.