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The apparent assassination of an ex-spy in the French Alps could help to finally crack the mystery of a British family murdered nearby in 2012.

Daniel Forestier was found shot dead last week in a car park in Ballaison, close to the French border with Switzerland.

The retired DGSE agent – France’s equivalent of MI6 – took five bullets in the head and chest.

Prosecutors said the calculated nature of the 57-year-old’s killing means it is being treated as a professional hit.

And experts noticed striking similarities to the killings of Brits Saad al-Hilli, 50, wife Iqbal, 47, and her mum Suhaili al-Allaf, 74.

In both cases, the victims were shot at point-blank range, in little-used car parks in the Alps with a low chance of witnesses – and the same number of bullets were used.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Ex-satellite engineer Mr al-Hilli, of Claygate, Surrey, was shot at the wheel of his car in a lay-by in Chevaline, which is just an hour’s drive from Ballaison, in Annecy.

He had taken his caravan to a local campsite with his wife, mother-in-law and two daughters in September 2012.

A French cyclist was also murdered at the spot, while eldest girl Zainab, seven, was pistol-whipped and left for dead.

Sister Zeena, then four, was left unharmed but cowering under her mum’s skirt.

A source said: “The killer on both occasions aimed at the body, then specifically the heart, before finishing off victims at extremely close range with a bullet to the head. There are clear parallels.”

(Image: Phil Harris)

Mr Forestier was being probed in connection with a plot to kill exiled Congolese colonel Ferdinand Mbahou.

Prosecutors suspect his death is linked to proceedings opened against him and a DGSE colleague last year.

The border area is rife with weapons issued to conscripts in the Swiss army, which they can keep when back in civilian life.