The Reuters news agency is reporting that Mohammed Merah, the suspect in the French school shooting, was jailed in the southern province of Kandahar for alleged bombings in 2007.

A prison official speaking to Reuters said Merah was later freed in a mass prison break organised by Taliban forces.

The Kandahar Media and Information Center has denied the claims on their Twitter account.

Based on our records, no French citizen named Mohammad Merah was ever detained in Kandahar Province.

— KMIC (@KandaharMediaOf) March 21, 2012