Al-Qaida group threatens Europe
Cairo newspaper Asharq al-Awsat received a statement from the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri (al-Qaida), the group which claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombs on March 11 which killed about 200 people.
The statement referred to a three-month ceasefire in Europe that the leader of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, declared on April 15.
"To the European people: only few days remain for you to accept the truce offered by bin Laden. Otherwise you will have nobody but yourself to blame," the statement said.
In the April 15 tape, bin Laden gave Europeans three months to withdraw their troops from what he called the countries of the Muslim nation. He warned against any "aggression" in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
At least seven European nations have troops serving in the multi-national force in Iraq: Britain (8,500 troops), Italy (3,000), Poland (2,400), Ukraine (1,576), the Netherlands (1,300), Romania (700) and Denmark (500).
US officials and some terrorism experts believe the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri (al-Qaida) lacks credibility and has only tenuous ties to al-Qaida.
The group claimed responsibility for the Madrid bombs, but it also claimed responsibility for events to which it was not connected such as blackouts in America and Britain.
Meanwhile, the US is urging its citizens to consider leaving Bahrain, citing intelligence that terrorists are planning attacks.
The US Navy's 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain, which has approximately 4,000 American residents.
"The department has received information that extremists are planning attacks against US and other western interests in the Kingdom of Bahrain," it said.
