Man arrested for killing British family in French Alps in 2012, released and “excluded” from investigation

The man, who was arrested in 2012 for the murder of a British family and cyclist in the French Alps, has been released and has been “excluded” as a suspect, prosecutors said.

Police detained the man on Wednesday as part of a new investigation into the murders of 50-year-old Saad al-Hilli; his wife Iqbal, 47, and mother-in-law Suhaila al Allaf, 74, on a remote road near Annecy on September 5, 2012.

In a statement, the prosecutor in Annecy said: “No charges have been filed against the person questioned.

“The interpretation given and the checks carried out allow us to exclude his involvement in the facts. The investigation is ongoing.”

Mr al Hilli, an Iraq-born engineer, his wife a dentist and her mother died after their BMW was sprayed with bullets from close range at the landfill.

French cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, also died after being shot seven times.

Mr. al-Hilli’s two daughters, four-year-old Zeena and seven-year-old Zainab, were in the car at the time of the shooting and survived.

Four victims and two survivors were found by police in the woods.

Eric Maillaud, a prosecutor in Annecy in 2012, said the four-year-old daughter could not help investigators because she was hiding under her mother’s feet during the attack.

Her seven-year-old sister was shot in the shoulder, but she survived and was found badly injured in front of the car, where three bodies were found.

About 25 rounds of ammunition were found in the vehicle.

All the victims had at least three bullet wounds, each with one shot to the head.

Police worked to make progress in the case and no charges were filed nine years after the attack.