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Report: Al Qaeda Claims Credit for Madrid Blasts
Fox News -- just hit the ’Net.
Al Qaeda has reportedly claimed responsibilty for a series of bombings Thursday that left at least 190 people dead and 1,240 wounded. According to wire reports, Al-Quds Al-Arabi — a London-based Arabic newspaper — reported the terrorist organization said it was behind the the 10 bombs that rocked three Madrid train stations during the height of the morning rush hour. . . . After an emergency Cabinet meeting, a somber Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar called the attacks "mass murder" and vowed to hunt down the attackers. He reaffirmed his policy of not negotiating with ETA. "No negotiation is possible or desirable with these assassins who so many times have sown death all around Spain," Aznar said.
He has the right idea. Viva Espana!
Mansoor Ijaz, a foreign-affairs analyst for Fox News, said the attacks had many of the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda operation. He said it was evidence the pan-Islamic terror organization may be "joining hands with local terrorists."
ETA-Al Qaeda makes a goofier match than Iraqi Baathists-Al Qaeda...
"This represents a dangerous mutated version of what Al Qaeda has been doing in other parts of the world," Ijaz explained, "hitting three simultaneous targets, not necessarily in the same city but in the same area, with multiple explosions at each location." Ijaz said Madrid was part of "an emerging pattern," citing recent multiple bombings in Iraq that may have been Al Qaeda-inspired. He noted that Spain has been a staunch supporter of U.S.-led military efforts in Iraq.
Posted by: Mike 2004-03-11
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=27889