Posted on 01/12/2006 7:41:08 AM PST by NormsRevenge
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain said on Thursday it had arrested a Moroccan man suspected of heading two al Qaeda-linked cells and helping men involved in the 2004 Madrid bombings flee the country.
In an Interior Ministry statement, the man was named as Omar Nakhcha, the alleged ring-leader of two cells believed to have recruited Islamist fighters for Iraq. The units were dismantled by police earlier this week and 20 people were arrested.
Nakhcha, 23, was arrested in the northeastern province of Barcelona.
Larbi Ben Sellam, a suspected Islamist militant arrested in June last year, told police that Nakhcha helped three suspects Mohamed Afalah, Mohamed Belhadj and Daouh Ouhnane to escape from Spain after the Madrid bombings, the ministry said.
Nakhcha allegedly arranged from Belgium for the three men to travel to Syria and then Iraq, and helped the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group organize the travel of volunteer fighters between Iraq and Europe.
"He supplied the terrorists with false documentation, as well as those who returned to Europe to be integrated into Islamist cells after spending some time in Iraq," the statement said.
The two cells operated in Madrid, Barcelona and the Basque country and had connections in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Iraq, the Interior Ministry said.
One of the cells broken up on Tuesday was allegedly responsible for recruiting an Algerian who killed 19 Italians and nine Iraqis in a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2003.
Spanish police have arrested more than 200 suspected Islamist militants since the March 11, 2004 Madrid attacks, which killed 191 people.
Spain should IMEDIATELY release him!
After all, the Islamist may get mad at Spain if they hold on to him!
Red6
I thought the Spaniels surrendered already ?
Only when it comes to dealing with the real problems. The real "FIX" to the larger Islamist problem they will leave to us and the Coalition, internally nations like France and Spain are clamping down hard.
They're moochers in the grand scheme of things.
Red6
One more sleazeball off the streets.
Here it is:
Spain arrests 17 Islamist suspects ~ one may be linked to an attack on Italian police in Iraq.
Wonder if wiretaps were involved with any of these...see this:
fyi
I wouldn't be surprised. The Spanish police have been very good at getting these guys lately.
Spain, like the US, is often handicapped by interagency squabbling and refusal to share information. However, maybe March 11 forced them to clear up some of these problems, because they have bagged an impressive number of these guys in the last few weeks.
Omar is 23 and the leader of two al-Qa'ida cells? The average age appears to be dropping a bit, I wonder why? :-)
Isn't it funny? The Spaniards have been dealing with terrorism (albeit of the more benign ETA variety) for decades, and a member of FR knows better?
Amazing.
Thanks. I've been unplugged from the world the whole day and didn't know about this. It's nice getting good news when you have just got home.
Anyway, I still wonder why some people (not you, oc) seem to feel bitter about this kind of news.
Well, just thinking out loud... thanks again
Thanks for the additional info. I believe what you posted yesterday on the Spanish intel terrorist captures is part of what we read here. At least these goons are being found and hopefully will spend very long sentences behind secure bars.
ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.