Alps Shootings: Police Talk To Older Daughter

A seven-year-old girl whose parents were shot dead in the French Alps has spoken to investigators - as police in the UK used power tools in an effort to access a safe at her family home.

Zainab al Hilli was shot and so violently beaten during the attack in Chevaline, near Lake Annecy, that doctors had placed her in a medically induced coma.

But sources close to the investigation said she had since regained consciousness and was able to hold a brief discussion with officers in France.

Investigators see her as a key witness to the shooting spree in the remote car park that left her parents and grandmother dead a few days before the scheduled end of their family holiday.

Mechanical design engineer Saad al Hilli, 50, was killed in the family car alongside his dentist wife Iqbal, 47, her mother and Sylvain Mollier, 45, a French cyclist who apparently stumbled across the shooting.

Zainab's younger sister Zeena, four, who survived by cowering behind her mother, has flown back to Britain with carers.

While she is unable to shed much light on the murders, French police believe Zainab could provide them with crucial details to help piece together what happened.

A source said: "They have been able to speak to her but this was just an initial meeting. They could not go into any detail and the child was very tired. It was not permitted for the discussion to go any further."

Police must now wait for approval from medics before they can speak to the girl in more length, when she is expected to be asked about her memories of the attack.

Her sister Zeena returned to Britain after two relatives, understood to be an aunt and uncle, flew out to France. She is under the care of the authorities and social services.

It is as yet unclear who will take custody of the two orphaned children.

The news came as Sky sources revealed police had taken power tools to Mr al Hilli's home in Claygate, Surrey, to try and open a safe.

An Army bomb disposal unit had earlier left the house and lifted a cordon around the area. Police had closed two roads outside due to "concerns" about items found in the house.

Aerial pictures showed the Royal Logistic Corps bomb squad's investigation appeared to have been focused on a workshop at the bottom of the garden.

Officers later said the items were not hazardous and neighbours could return to their homes.

French police say they believe the killings were the work of one gunman.

They found 25 spent bullets at the scene, which had led to speculation there was more than one attacker.

But the single weapon used was a 7.65mm automatic pistol, according to a source close to the investigation quoted by AFP.

Each of the four victims was shot twice in the head. Nearby witnesses said they did not hear shots, meaning a silencer was probably used.

Sky's defence and security editor Sam Kiley said the fact only one gun was used meant the "cold and calculating" killer had an "extremely high level of training".

French police officer Benoit Vinneman earlier told reporters the crime scene was being re-examined, and it would be wrong to focus on the theory of an "ordered execution".

"Is this the work of a crazy person? Was the family the real target? Only work based on complete information can help us to see things clearly," he said.

A French builder, thought to be one of the last people to see the British family alive, said they had arrived at the isolated car park at least an hour before they were killed.

Laurent Fillion-Robin, 38, also said there was no sign of any vehicle following their red BMW and he did not hear any shots.

Two mobile phones discovered in the car are being examined by detectives.

A close friend of Iraqi-born Mr al Hilli told Sky that the father of two had been worried about security and had hid important documents before he left for France on holiday.