Sifting the Evidence

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Spain’s intelligence service is said to be “99 percent certain” that Islamic terrorists were behind the Madrid train bombings: Spain’s spies see Muslims behind attack-radio. (Hat tip: freedomsound.)

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s intelligence service is “99 percent certain” that radical Muslims and not the Basque separatist group ETA are responsible for the train bombings that killed 200 people, a Spanish radio station has reported.

Private radio SER, whose owners have links to the opposition Socialist Party, said the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) believes the evidence points to an Islamic group, and that 10 to 15 people left bombs on the trains and fled, the radio said on Saturday.

Norwegian researchers have uncovered further evidence of an Islamic connection: Possible al-Qaida Link Found in Attack.

Experts from the government’s Norwegian Defense Research Establishment said the documents found on an Arabic-language Web site last year suggest Spain as a possible terror target because the country had been part of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

“We must make maximum use of the proximity to the elections in Spain in March next year. Spain can stand a maximum of two or three attacks before they will withdraw from Iraq,” the documents said, according to daily newspaper VG. …

Researcher Thomas Hegghammer told the paper the researchers first thought the 42-page document referred to attacks against coalition forces in Iraq.

“But the fact that they specifically mention the election in Spain, makes us have to see this in the light of the action in Madrid, three days before the election,” Hegghammer said.

Norwegian Defense Research Establishment spokeswoman Anne-Lisa Hammer told The Associated Press the researchers would not speak to journalists Saturday, but added that the Norwegian reports were accurate. …

“The author, who is anonymous, is very well-oriented in Spanish politics. We cannot say for sure that this document stems from al-Qaida. We don’t have any reason, either, to believe that it isn’t real,” researcher Brynjar Lia told VG.

The document suggests attacks on Spain would lead to the collapse of the fragile Iraq coalition set up by the United States if they forced Spain to withdraw.

But over at Tim Blair’s pad, guest bloggers Golan and Franco Alemán argue that ETA was probably responsible: A sad postcard from Spain.

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Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
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