French Alps:
Detectives probing the killing of a British family in the French Alps last week are pursuing three "essential" lines of investigation, all of which assume that the father, Saad al-Hilli, was the main target of the attack, prosecutor Eric Maillaud said on Wednesday.
Mr Maillaud said the theories being pursued were that the killing was linked to a family conflict, something in Mr Hilli's professional life - he worked in the aerospace industry - or something linked to his Iraqi background.
"Those are the three major lines of investigation to be given priority: the job, the family, Iraq - those three are essential," he told a press conference in Annecy, near where the murder took place a week ago.
He said the bodies of the four people killed in the attack had been returned to their families.
He also confirmed that Mr Hilli's seven-year-old daughter, who survived the attack, was still unable to speak to investigators about what happened.
Zainab al-Hilli has been hospitalised since suffering serious head injuries in the attack in which her parents, Saad and Iqbal, her grandmother and Frenchman Sylvain Mollier - a passing cyclist - were shot dead.
The prosecutor played down hopes that Zainab's eventual testimony could produce a breakthrough.
"I've read in many places that she is the key witness and of course she is the only person living who witnessed the attack," he said. "We will talk to her but it is not on the testimony of a seriously injured little girl that the whole investigation can be based."
Police have spent days searching the Hillis' home on the outskirts of London but have yet to announce any discovery there that could shed light on why the family was slain.
French police have established that one gun was used for all 25 shots fired at the scene and also that the Hilli family changed campsites for an unknown reason two days before the attack.
Mr Maillaud and judge Michel Mollin are to travel to London on Thursday for an update on progress on the other side of the Channel. The pair also plan to visit the family's home in Claygate in the London suburbs.
Mr Maillaud said four French investigators were in Britain and cooperation between French and British detectives was good. But he said there were "difficulties", particularly due to what he called the "language barrier".
As well as searching the house and probing Saad al-Hilli's business affairs, British police have questioned his brother about a reported family dispute over money, which the brother denies.
Relatives of the slain family meanwhile said Wednesday they were heartbroken but touched by the outpouring of sympathy from people the world over.
Ahmed al-Saffar - whose 74-year-old sister was found dead in a car along with his niece and her husband - said the family wanted those responsible brought to justice.
"We have been touched by the expressions of sympathy from people all over the world," he said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
"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," it said.
Mr Maillaud said the theories being pursued were that the killing was linked to a family conflict, something in Mr Hilli's professional life - he worked in the aerospace industry - or something linked to his Iraqi background.
"Those are the three major lines of investigation to be given priority: the job, the family, Iraq - those three are essential," he told a press conference in Annecy, near where the murder took place a week ago.
He said the bodies of the four people killed in the attack had been returned to their families.
He also confirmed that Mr Hilli's seven-year-old daughter, who survived the attack, was still unable to speak to investigators about what happened.
Zainab al-Hilli has been hospitalised since suffering serious head injuries in the attack in which her parents, Saad and Iqbal, her grandmother and Frenchman Sylvain Mollier - a passing cyclist - were shot dead.
The prosecutor played down hopes that Zainab's eventual testimony could produce a breakthrough.
"I've read in many places that she is the key witness and of course she is the only person living who witnessed the attack," he said. "We will talk to her but it is not on the testimony of a seriously injured little girl that the whole investigation can be based."
Police have spent days searching the Hillis' home on the outskirts of London but have yet to announce any discovery there that could shed light on why the family was slain.
French police have established that one gun was used for all 25 shots fired at the scene and also that the Hilli family changed campsites for an unknown reason two days before the attack.
Mr Maillaud and judge Michel Mollin are to travel to London on Thursday for an update on progress on the other side of the Channel. The pair also plan to visit the family's home in Claygate in the London suburbs.
Mr Maillaud said four French investigators were in Britain and cooperation between French and British detectives was good. But he said there were "difficulties", particularly due to what he called the "language barrier".
As well as searching the house and probing Saad al-Hilli's business affairs, British police have questioned his brother about a reported family dispute over money, which the brother denies.
Relatives of the slain family meanwhile said Wednesday they were heartbroken but touched by the outpouring of sympathy from people the world over.
Ahmed al-Saffar - whose 74-year-old sister was found dead in a car along with his niece and her husband - said the family wanted those responsible brought to justice.
"We have been touched by the expressions of sympathy from people all over the world," he said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
"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," it said.
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