Morocco-based terrorists 'main threat to Europe'

Morocco – home to most of the suspects in the Madrid train bombing – is teeming with some 100 al-Qaida-linked cells that are capable of suicide attacks, and pose Europe’s biggest terrorist threat, Spain’s leading anti-terrorism judge has testified.

Each cell has five to 10 members, “so we are talking about 900 to 1,000 people who could be sought by police now in Morocco,” Judge Baltasar Garzon told lawmakers investigating the March 11 attacks, which killed 190 people.

“In my opinion it is the gravest problem Europe faces today with this kind of terrorism,” Garzon said yesterday, quoting police and intelligence data.

Many of the groups are in northern Morocco, with members who speak perfect Spanish and are able to slip easily in and out of Spain – just a short ferry ride away across the Strait of Gibraltar.

The groups raise money by dealing hashish, selling stolen cars and smuggling people into Spain, he said. “They use every means and mechanism, and their activity can even be initially perceived as ordinary delinquency.”

Officials at the Moroccan Embassy could not be reached to respond to Garzon’s allegations.

Morocco has done its share of finger-pointing at Spain since the March 11 Madrid bombings, but both countries have pledged to work closely against terrorism.

Garzon also complained yesterday that European law enforcement bodies, intelligence services and courts lack a clearly-defined strategy for fighting Islamic terrorism. ”At least I don’t know of one yet, despite all the efforts that are being made,” Garzon said.

Most of the 17 people jailed in Spain on preliminary charges stemming from the Madrid bombing attack are Moroccan, including Jamal Zougam, suspected of physically placing the bombs on the crowded morning commuter trains.

Garzon said his initial reaction to the attack was that al-Qaida, not Basque separatists as asserted by the government, was responsible because of the scale of the carnage and its stunning co-ordination – 10 virtually simultaneous blasts.

Garzon said he had second thoughts when police told him – in error – the explosives used were a brand favoured by Basque separatists. He then became convinced the massacre was linked to Islamic extremists hours later, after learning of a van containing detonators, explosives and a tape with Quranic verses near the rail station from which the bombed trains departed.

“It was like a light bulb going on,” Garzon said, referring specifically to the tape. “I had no doubt whatsoever.” At that point the government had already blamed the Basque separatist group ETA, and it continued to insist ETA was the prime suspect.

Spain’s former conservative government had backed the Iraq war despite fierce opposition at home, and sent 1,300 troops after major combat ended. After the train bombings, it feared that word of an Islamic link to the attack would create a backlash in general elections due three days later.

Voters did punish the government, electing Socialists who had opposed the war and quickly brought the soldiers home.

Garzon testified before the 16-member commission in his capacity as an expert on Islamic terrorism, having investigated Muslim extremist groups in Spain since 1989.

The legislative inquiry is aimed at examining the government’s handling of the massacre, and determining whether it could have been averted through intelligence warnings.

The National Court, where Garzon works, is conducting the main inquiry into the bombings, but Garzon is not directly involved in it.

Garzon is well-versed in Islamic terrorism. Last month he completed an eight-year investigation that led to indictments against 41 al-Qaida suspects, including its leader Osama bin Laden, accusing him and a dozen others of preparing the September 11 attacks in the US.

Morocco was hit by a string of terrorist bombings on May 16 last year, leaving 45 dead, including 12 attackers. One of the main targets was a Spanish restaurant and social club, and four victims were Spanish.

Moroccan authorities blamed al-Qaida and cracked down on fundamentalist suspects, arresting more than 5,000 people. Most were released, but 700 remain behind bars and 17 face the death penalty – unused in Morocco since 1993.

After the Madrid bombings, Moroccan authorities insisted they had warned Spain about the key suspect, Zougam.

On Thursday, Garzon said the former Spanish government’s support for the Iraq war was probably only one factor leading to the terrorist attack.

Islamic cells have been present in Spain since the early 1990s. Spain is a Western country and Muslims in North Africa maintain a historic claim to the Spanish territory that the Moors ruled for 800 years and called al-Andalus, Garzon said.

Al-Qaida has struck other countries since September 11, such as Indonesia and Turkey, and for Spain, he said, “maybe it was just a question of time”.