Number Found at Spain Site Leads to Arrest (Madrid Train bombing )

The Las Vegas Sun ^ | May 08, 2004 at 9:16:24 PDT | ASSOCIATED PRESS

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

MADRID, Spain (AP) -

Police investigating the Madrid terror bombings have arrested a Moroccan whose telephone number was found in the ruins of an apartment where seven suspects blew themselves up, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

The man, whose name was not released, was arrested Thursday night in Parla, a town just south of Madrid, a ministry official said.

The suspect's telephone number was found in the wreckage of an apartment where seven suspects, including the suspected ringleader of the train attacks, blew themselves up on April 3 as police prepared to go in and arrest them, the official said.

The attacks on March 11 killed 191 people and wounded more than 2,000, and have been blamed on Islamic militants with possible links to al-Qaida.

Eighteen people have been charged so far - six with mass murder and the rest with collaborating with or belonging to a terrorist organization. Six of the 18 have been released from jail but still face charges.

On Thursday, the FBI arrested an American lawyer, Brandon Mayfield, 37, in the United States as a material witness in the case.

Spanish officials say at least one of Mayfield's fingerprints were found on a plastic bag containing detonators of the kind used in the attacks. The bag was found in a van left near the station from which three of the four trains bombed on March 11 departed. U.S. officials said a single print of Mayfield's was found on the bag.

The newspaper El Pais reported Saturday that Spanish investigators have serious doubts as to whether the print is Mayfield's. They have no record of him traveling to Spain recently, and experts found only eight points of similarity between the print and the one of Mayfield held in U.S. files because of his status as a former member of the Army. The FBI said it found 15 such points, El Pais said.

The Interior Ministry declined to comment on the report.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for that excerpt.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See above/

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[livius]

Thanks for the ping!

Actually, I'm not sure he had to go to Spain to get his fingerprint on that bag. Somebody posted something else fascinating yesterday - apparently what was described as a "delegation" from Morocco had for some reason visited Portland, under very confusing circumstances, some time in February of this year. So it's quite possible that the bombers had some kind of contact with him in the US and not in Spain.

[Grampa Dave]

Okay, what is this POS's military expertise?

When he was at Ft Lewis, before or afterwards, did he work with demolitions?

This is part of the story we are not being told.

This article to me alludes to it.

"The American fits the profile of such a potential lead bomb-maker or trainer, along with two Moroccan fugitives who are hard-core Al Qaeda-trained veterans and potential "field commanders" of the bombing cell, investigators said."

[ValerieUSA]

In January a delegation of Moroccan lawmakers visited Portland. They were members of the national legislative body - whatever that is over there. Morocco is a Muslim nation but has been cooperative with the United States through the years.

Morocco was attacked by Islamic terrorists in a deadly multi-sited simultaneous bombing last May. The recent train bombings in Madrid were also at multiple sites detonated simultaneously with cell phone activation.

Nearly all of the many suspects in the Madrid bombing are Moroccans.

The Moroccan delegation of dignitaries was detained at the Portland International Airport on January 31 after one of the members left a bag untended, and it was reported.

The Moroccans were released but missed a connecting flight and spent all day at the airport before boarding another flight late Saturday night. In the meantime, officials searched their luggage, the FBI questioned their intent and their American hosts -- including Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz -- found themselves apologizing for what appeared to be a case of post-9/11 jitters.
"They're like congressional people," Cruz said. "They're national elected officials."
When the Moroccans arrived Wednesday in Portland for a round of talks with scholars, political leaders and business people, they were greeted by the Royal Rosarians and bouquets of roses, said Cruz, who was the lead host for the visit.

In the search of their luggage the numbers 911 were found in Arabic papers (Arabic is the official language of Morocco). It was explained that the number was included in instructions provided by a host in Dallas for the visitors to follow in case of an emergency.
Anyway, I trust all of the contents of their luggage were carefully inventoried.

I also wonder if they visited the Beaverton mosque while in Portland, or met with mosque members. The mosque itself is a nondescript windowless white clapboard building.

[livius]

Thanks for filling in the information!

I think it's very possible that they visited that mosque. Perhaps one of them brought something in a bag that was then handled by the lawyer and later carried back to Morrocco (or Spain) by whoever brought it. Furthermore, I haven't seen any article describing the bag, other than to say it was a shopping bag. Was it from Pryca (a Spanish chain), for example - or from Safeway?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

God works in marvelous ways!

[LayoutGuru2]

Is it just me or are a lot of these turncoats popping up out of Fort Lewis in Washington state?

Soldier accused of trying to aid al-Qaida

... second time in recent months that a soldier with Fort ... spying at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terrorism suspects, was previously stationed at Fort Lewis. ...
seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/160510_guard13.html - 24k - Cached - Similar pages

WorldNetDaily: The courage to admit Muslim danger
... James Yee, now Youseff Yee, a former Fort Lewis chaplain, was accused of mishandling ... at
an Islamic mosque in Los Angeles and changed his name to Asan Akbar. ...

CNN.com - Muhammad a Gulf War vet, Islam convert - Jan. 26, 2004

... The 6-foot-1-inch Muhammad, also known as John Allen Williams, was stationed in the 1980s at Fort Lewis, Washington, about 15 miles from Tacoma, and at the now ...
www.cnn.com/2002/US/10/24/muhammad.profile/ - 46k - Cached - Similar pages

[DoctorMichael]

"........struggling with why the terrorists in Spain would need the help of a family practice lawyer in Portland......."

Maybe this clown was operating a 'Safehouse'. He's already shown his sympathy with these idiots by taking the Defence of the Oregon Jihadists.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Now that is real interesting!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I am stepping out for a drive and food, be back later!

Keep up the good work!

[ValerieUSA]

Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz strikes me as excessively silly and politically correct. I wonder if she even bothered to verify the official status of these Moroccan visitors. Who were the scholars and business people that met with them, and why? Who was their host in Dallas? How many American cities did they visit on their trip?

[LayoutGuru2]

Now that you mention this I recall a big deal being made of some foreign dignitaries that were given a bad time going through a security check here at PDX. The local lefties were just ringing the hands at how terribly they were treated, like terrorists. I'll try to dig up the story, maybe it was a different town.

[ValerieUSA]

He did not actually take the defense of the jihadists. A year before their arrest he took a child custody case (which they lost) of one of the men who would later attempt to join the al qaeda / taliban side against the US in Afghanistan.

[ValerieUSA]

See post #26

[Catspaw]

Al Qaeda members have been known to use fake passports.

He's going to have to document where he's been for the past year or so, day by day, probably hour by hour. Just saying he's not been out of the country means diddly. He's going to have to prove it to get out of this one.

[LayoutGuru2]

Members of Moroccan parliament detained at Oregon airport
http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/1136787p-7911515c.html

[ValerieUSA]

His family back in Kansas has been very vocal in their claims that he hasn't been to Spain. However, he lives in Portland. The photos of Brandon Mayfield and his wife provided to the press from Kansas connections show them looking all-American wearing regular street clothes and with Mona's hair uncovered and fluffy, and even posing with one son in front of a Christmas tree for a Sears-type portrait.
However, in Portland, Mona wears a long robe and traditional headscarf.
I think the Portland Mayfields led a far more devout and militant Muslim life than their relatives in Kansas ever knew about.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Lefties do NOTHING better than "wringing" their hands over supposed American failing. Look at the massive non-stop 24/7 case of wringing this last week over frat pranks.