'Shocking' Alps Deaths: Family's Heartbreak

Relatives of the family murdered in the French Alps have said they are "heartbroken by this shocking crime".

Engineer Saad al Hilli, his wife, his mother-in-law and a French cyclist were killed in last Wednesday's attack. Mr al Hilli's two children, four-year-old Zeena and Zainab, aged seven, survived.

In a statement released via the Foreign Office, Ahmed al Saffar said: "The victims' family and I are heartbroken by this shocking crime and we have been touched by the expressions of sympathy from people all over the world.

"The victims' family are of Iraqi-Arabic origin. We are very grateful for the support provided by the British, French and Iraqi authorities during this difficult time.

"We hope that those responsible for the deaths of our loved ones are brought swiftly to justice.

"In the meantime, we would ask that the media understand that as a family we need time to grieve and we would therefore request that they respect our privacy at this intensely difficult time."

The statement was issued as the French prosecutor in charge of the case, Eric Maillaud, confirmed that he would be travelling to England on Thursday to continue the investigation into the shootings near Lake Annecy.

Speaking at a press conference, he said: "I imagine that a great number of clues will be in the UK.

"We will try to work as closely as possible with the British, cooperation has already begun."

Mr Maillaud added that officers would be talking again to seven-year-old Zainab, who was shot and so brutally beaten that doctors placed her in a medically-induced coma.

Police spoke briefly with her after she regained consciousness on Sunday and are waiting for approval from medics before they can question her further.

"She will of course be listened to. But of course her doctors have got to be able to help her try to get back to the best possible health and eventually hope that she will be able to express herself," he said.

"She is a key witness. She's the only person alive who actually could have seen something.

"But the success of the inquiry cannot be thanks to a little girl who is seven-years-old and who has been very damaged. We can't hope for the inquiry to be solved thanks to her."

He added that the investigation could take months to solve.

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