Al-Jazeera will not Air Graphic Video of Mohammed Merah Toulouse Killings

Al-Jazeera will not air a video of the killing of French children and soldiers by crazed gunman Mohammed Merah in Toulouse, the channel has said.

The Paris management of the Qatar-based television company confirmed it had received a parcel containing a USB memory stick, containing the video, and a letter claiming responsibility for the attacks that killed seven people in France.

Zied Tarrouche, the Paris bureau chief, told the French news network BFM-TV that meetings had been held in Qatar to decide whether or not to broadcast the video.

Senior executives decided not to air the shocking images, AP reported.

Tarrouche told BFM TV: "You hear the voice of the person who carried out the killings. You also hear the victims' cries.

"My feelings are those of any human being who sees horrible things. For me the issue is whether to broadcast this or not."

Tarrouche said the 25-minute video presented the attacks in chronological order and had been edited into a montage.

"There was a mixture of religious music and chants, lectures and recitals of verses from the Koran," he added.

France's president Nicolas Sarkozy had called on TV channels not to show the images.

"I ask of those in charge of all the TV channels in possession of these images not to broadcast the images under any pretext out of respect for the victims and out of respect for the republic," he said.