| A Spanish judge accused three Algerians of belonging to Al Qaeda and forming part of a network that recruited Islamists across Europe to go fight the US-led occupation of Iraq, court records said yesterday. High Court Judge Baltasar Garzon said the mobilising of insurgents was directed by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, whose group has claimed responsibility for the beheading of a US hostage and the assassination of the head of the Iraqi Governing Council. The three Algerians, along with a Spaniard accused of collaborating with them, were arrested in various parts of Spain last Friday and jailed on Garzon's orders, pending further investigation. The judge also drew links between the Algerians and the Hamburg cell that plotted the September 11 attacks. Garzon accused one of the Algerians, Samir Mahdjoub, of helping others "distribute money to finance the sending of mujahideen to Iraq, using the infrastructure of Ansar Al Islam in other countries like Italy and Syria." |