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Major GIA Network in Europe Intelligence Newsletter THREAT ASSESSMENT; ARMS TRAFFICKING; N. 287 May 9, 1996 Belgian security has uncovered a major network operating across Europe to supply arms to the Algerian fundamentalist movement GIA (initials of its French name Groupe Islamique Arme). The discovery stems from an incident last December when terrorists driving near the Belgian-Luxembourg border tossed a grenade at gendarmes patrolling in the area. Belgian security has uncovered a major network operating across Europe to supply arms to the Algerian fundamentalist movement GIA (initials of its French name Groupe Islamique Arme). An analysis of shrapnel from the grenade enabled investigators to quickly discover it came from the same batch of grenades seized when a network run by Ahmed Zaoui was shut down in March, 1995. (IN 263-271). Some time after the assault on the gendarmes the authorities in Bastogne managed to determine that the assailants had made a telephone call to Bertrange in Luxembourg from a public telephone box. The number they called was being tapped by Luxembourg's Surete.

As a result, Jasmin Mulashusic and Nustret Jusovovic, two Bosnian nationals who travelled regularly between Luxembourg and Brussels, were arrested last month after being shadowed for some time by a specialized team of Belgian gendarmes (POSA) and the Belgian Surete who were working smoothly together for once. The Belgians wanted to keep the two under surveillance for several weeks but examining magistrate Jean-Marc Connerotte feared they might trigger attacks and decided to round them up immediately instead. He also issued an arrest warrant against Ali el Majda, alias Mohamed, a member of the Zaoui network who stood trial at the same time as the latter in September of last year and, like Zaoui, was acquitted. Acting on the warrant, the Belgian gendarmery's Cellule Anti-terroriste (Cel-Ter) arrested el Majda who confessed he was still operating on behalf of GIA and that it was he who had thrown the grenade at the gendarmes in December. Elsewhere, information gleaned by the Luxembourg and Belgian security services (mainly address books) enabled Holland's BVD in early April to team up with Rotterdam police to raid a residence known to house fundamentalists. One of them, a certain Nourredine, alias El Habes and alias Kamal Merabet, is reported to be a major figure in GIA's infrastructure in Europe. Belgium is expected to quickly call for his extradition. In addition, another Bosnian whose identity has been kept secret (he is thought to be named Ratsilovic) was arrested at Shifflange by the Luxembourg gendarmery on April 9. He was hiding in a false ceiling alongside a big cache of ammunition (24,000 bullets) and several Kalashnikovs from the same series as those seized from associates of Zaoui. Belgian investigators believe the arrest broke up one of the GIA's biggest arms networks in Europe. The operation could have repercussions in several European countries, particularly Germany.