Spanish judge charges 13 with al Qaida membership

A Spanish judge charged 13 suspected Islamic extremists today on charges of belonging to al Qaida.

The indictment said the suspects, most of whom were North African, had formed two terror cells in 2003 – one in Morocco and one in Madrid – and concluded that after Spain sent peacekeeping troops to Iraq that year, the country was “an enemy of Islam and therefore it was necessary to stage an attack” in Spain.