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Investigators in Spain Now Believe Al Qaeda Behind Bombings

The Washington Post reports Monday that investigators in Spain now believe Al Qaeda was responsible after all for the Spain bombings:

Investigators believe the train bombings that killed 200 people here last week were the work of a multinational cell of al Qaeda loyalists, some of whom entered Spain specifically to carry out the attacks and who are now the target of an international effort to identify and capture them, according to European and Arab intelligence officials. The officials said the preliminary investigation and interrogation of five arrested suspects -- three Moroccans and two Indian Muslims -- as well as other evidence indicated that the Thursday morning rush-hour bombings were carried out by the al Qaeda network, marking the first time the group has struck in Europe.

The way the bombings were carried out is particularly worrisome to European leaders:

For European leaders, the al Qaeda link is a chilling development, and security services across the continent are now scrambling to assess the likelihood of further attacks in Europe. Analysts said the method of the Madrid attacks -- synchronized bombings apparently carried out by remote control rather than by suicide bombers -- suggested that Islamic extremists had become more adaptable and, therefore, even more of a threat.

The Moroccan suspects are being interrogated. So far, they have provided only limited information and have made several requests for the Koran. As to why Spain was chosen, officials theorize:

Investigators and analysts said Spain was an inviting target because of President Jose Maria Aznar's support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and because the country is easily accessible to Moroccans and other North Africans. "Almost every European country has some al Qaeda presence, but Spain is the bridge between North Africa and Europe and it may be the most vulnerable to this kind of infiltration and attack," said Yonah Alexander, a terrorism expert at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Arlington.

And what of the ETA?

Spanish officials have not yet ruled out the possibility of indirect ETA involvement in the Madrid bombings, perhaps through the supply of explosives to Islamic militants. Officials said they were also re-examining an alleged sale of explosives by ETA to the radical Palestinian group Hamas several years ago in an effort to identify Basque ties to Islamic extremists. Alexander said Yusuf Galan, a Spanish national who was charged in Madrid in November 2001 with involvement with al Qaeda, was a former ETA member who had converted to Islam.

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