Belgium: Ties between Madrid attack and Belgium

The trial of the 29 suspects in the March 11th, 2004 attacks in Madrid shows that several of the suspects have ties with the Belgian "Cell from Masseik" of the GICM (Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group).  It wasn't hard for Belgian justice to catch that the Madrid group and several of the suspects in Brussels and Maaseik knew each other Belgian State Security followed the Belgian suspects for several months in 2004.

Barely eight days after the attacks in Madrid the Federal Police arrested several suspects, including Youssef Behadj.  Due to lack of evidence he was freed.  Belhaj was finally extradited to Spain in April 2005 after he was arrested again in Molenbeek on February of that year on request of Madrid.

The digital imprints of Mohamed Alafad, one of those who carried the bomb were found in an apartment in Schaarbeek, where also Mourad Chabarou, one of the suspects in the "Maaseik cell" ,stayed for a while.

Source: HLN (Dutch)

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