Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Thirty on trial in Madrid for plot to bomb court
15 Oct 2007 16:28:38 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds first accused denying involvement )

MADRID, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Thirty men accused of planning to blow up Spain's High Court in an al Qaeda suicide bomb attack went on trial in Madrid on Monday.

The men, mainly Moroccans and Algerians, were arrested in October 2004, seven months after a group of al Qaeda-inspired bombers killed 191 people in attacks on Madrid commuter trains.

Officials said the ringleaders planned to use a truck packed with half a tonne of explosives to carry out a suicide attack on the court, as well as aiming to bomb a train station and the headquarters of the conservative opposition Popular Party.

Prosecutors are asking for sentences of up to 46 years.

The first of the accused to appear, Mohamed Boukiri, denied involvement and said he was too heavily involved in his illegal drug habit to have taken part.

"I was just a junky," he told the court.

Many of the men, who are not known to be linked to the March 2004 train attacks, first met while serving prison sentences in Spain, prosecutors say.

Spanish security officials say that Islamist groups are the country's biggest security threat -- more dangerous than Basque nationalist guerrillas ETA.


AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article       Send comments

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.
Reset map

•  Algeria profile
· View map

•  Morocco profile
· View map

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  ADRA Morocco Achieves Official Association Status
ADRA - International

•  Brown government disappoints on first test of AIDS commitment
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - UK

•  'Worst floods in a decade' spark fears of a major food crisis across Africa
WER - UK

•  Publications Update: a new newsletter from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - UK

•  New International Health Partnership must build on AIDS accountability
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Thirty on trial in Madrid for plot to bomb court

•  Thirty on trial in Madrid for plot to bomb court

•  Two killed by storms along Spanish coast

•  Basques clash with police to stop rightist march

•  Spain's Mediterranean coast hit by flooding

MORE >>

Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Oct 15 16:28:23 2007