March 31, 2004

"Spain probes Morocco link, press names FBI suspect"

Spain refused to comment on Tuesday on the possible role of an FBI-wanted militant who is reported to be under suspicion in the Madrid bombings.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes confirmed on Tuesday that investigators were examining the bombers' ties to the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM), an extremist group which is believed to have links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.

Acebes would not speculate on the involvement of Abdelkarim el Mejjati, a Moroccan wanted in several countries who was the subject of an FBI worldwide alert last September.

Previous coverage of Mejjati here; a possible Balkans connection here.

North Africa analyst George Joffe, asked about the GICM soon after the March 11 attacks, told Reuters he had doubts about the operational existence of a group "whose name was probably coined as a cover for networks in Europe that include Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans. When was the last time this group claimed responsibility for anything?"

...Known to the FBI as Karim El Mejjati, the 36-year-old comes from a prosperous family. He is the son of a Moroccan father and French mother, and according to acquaintances is married to an American of Tunisian origin...

It said Mejjati holds a French passport and his last recorded entry to the United States was between 1997 and 1999.

Posted to Terrorism at March 31, 2004 12:19 AM

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