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Abdelkader Merah, brother of French motorcycle mayhem suspect Mohamed Merah, was arrested during a raid by officers of the Police Judiciaire. They later 'found' explosives in his car.
French police said Wednesday they had found explosives in the car of the brother of a man cornered by police who is suspected of carrying out seven gun murders.

Police said earlier they had detained the mother and brother of the suspect, self-declared Islamist Mohamed Merah, along with the brother's girlfriend.

Police did not provide any details of the explosives found in the car.

They said they had carried out searches of the homes of the mother and brother.

Speaking to reporters, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said they had been placed under "precautionary detention."

A source close to the investigation said Merah's brother was a sympathiser with radical Islamists.

Source: Agence France-Presse