[Watch] Toulouse gunman 'goes down' shooting at everybody

23 year-old Algerian born French citizen Mohammed Merah, has died this morning after jumping out of his apartment window as special forces moved in on him, ending a 31 hour stand-off which kept all France closely watching events unfold minute by minute.

Merah - who allegedly killed seven people including three schoolchildren - wanted to "die with weapons in his hands" and the building where he is besieged was surrounded by hundreds of police.

Three police officers were said to have been injured in this morning's shootout, that ended with Merah jumping out of a window, while still shooting at the police.

Three loud explosions were heard earlier outside the flat. They were caused by grenades used by officers to try to pressure him into giving himself up, sources said.

Merah had boasted about carrying out the shootings of three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi, and three French soldiers in separate incidents recently, has been holed up in the ground floor property since early on Wednesday.

The suspect, a French citizen of Algerian descent, reportedly bragged to negotiators he was trained by al Qaeda on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

He is thought to be armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a mini-Uzi submachine pistol and a collection of handguns and when police tried to storm his flat in the early hours of Wednesday, he is reported to have shouted "I can see you" and fired through the letterbox.

24 year-old Mohammed Merah as shown on France 2 TV

Elite police squads set off sporadic blasts overnight - some which blew off the flat's shutters - and cut off power to the evacuated building as they tried to persuade the suspect to give himself up. Gas supplies were reportedly cut yesterday morning.

Street lights were also turned off, making Merah more visible to officers with night vision goggles in case of an assault.

Gueant said the gunman told negotiators he wanted to "die with weapons in his hands".

Officers have tried to negotiate with Merah who said he would surrender on Wednesday afternoon, then at night, and he ended up going back on those pledges altogether, officials said.

Prosecutor Francois Molins said the suspect boasted about bringing "France to its knees" and had planned to kill another soldier - prompting the police raid.

The assault then erupted into a firefight with two police officers hurt as a stand-off developed.

"He has no regrets, except not having more time to kill more people and he boasts that he has brought France to its knees," Molins said.

Merah apparently jumped to his death from one of his apartment windows, and was reportedly killed with a bullet to his head.

Police officials said that Merah "went down shooting at everybody and at everything".

He claimed he carried out the shootings to avenge the deaths of Palestinian children and to protest against the French army's involvement in Afghanistan, as well as a government ban last year on face-covering Islamic veils, officials added.

Molins said the suspect had gone to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region twice and on one occasion was arrested by Afghan police and handed over to US army troops, who put him on a flight back to France.

"He said he does not have a suicidal spirit, he did not have a martyr's soul, he preferred to kill and remain alive," said Molins, adding that the gunman had claimed to have always acted alone.

Sources said the suspect had been known to the domestic security service for some years.

Merah had a police record for several minor offences, some involving violence,  Gueant told reporters, "but there was no evidence that he was planning such criminal actions".

A lawyer who defended Merah last month on charges of driving without a licence told French television that he had been "gentle" and "courteous" and that he had told him about his trip to Afghanistan.

The lawyer said he had pointed out to Merah that he would therefore, doubtless be under surveillance, and should not commit even the smallest infraction.

Police and prosecutors said they have arrested Merah's mother, brother and his brother's girlfriend as part of the inquiry.