Report: al-Qaida operative put Madrid bombers in contact with one another

Associated Press ^ | 4-9-04 | CIARAN GILES

[Oldeconomybuyer]

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Spanish police believe a top al-Qaida operative in Europe put two key suspects in the Madrid bombings in contact with one another, a newspaper reported Friday.

Serhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet of Tunisia, the alleged coordinator of the attacks, is believed to have met with al-Qaida operative Amer Azizi in Turkey in late 2002 or early 2003 to ask for fighters for an attack in Madrid, the daily El Mundo said.

Azizi, a Moroccan who remains at large, was indicted on terrorism charges last September by Judge Baltasar Garzon as part of his probe into an al-Qaida cell he accused of helping prepare the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

Azizi apparently told Fakhet he could not supply men but urged him to contact Moroccan compatriot Jamal Zougam in Madrid, the paper added, quoting unidentified police officials.

Zougam is one of six people charged with mass murder in the Madrid attacks, which killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800.

Fakhet was one of up to seven suspected terrorists who blew themselves up April 3 when their apartment south of Madrid was about to be stormed by police.

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