July 09, 2005
Europe's police asked to step up hunt for Morocco-born scholar By Daniel McGrory SECURITY forces across Europe have been asked to intensify their search for a religious scholar given asylum in Britain who is suspected of planning a series of terrorist atrocities. Scotland Yard was careful yesterday about not suggesting that Mohamed Guerbouzi, a 44-year-old Moroccan, is the probable mastermind of the London attacks but, among the dozens of militants they are scrutinising, his is the first name to have emerged. He had been living in Britain since 1974 but disappeared days after the attacks on Madrid commuter trains in 2004. Last night Guerbouzis family said: He denies having any links to the terror cell responsible for the Tube bombings. One of his daughters, who refused to give her name, said that he is in hiding somewhere in Britain. She said that he was on the run because of harassment from British police and security officials in Europe. Guerbouzi was already wanted by French and Moroccan authorities before the Madrid attacks for his alleged links to various terrorist cells abroad. A Brussels-based police official revealed yesterday that after the Tube bombings the authorities made an urgent plea to their European counterparts to track him down in relation to the attacks on London. If a link is found between Guerbouzi and the bombers, it could suggest that senior al-Qaeda figures were involved. Guerbouzi was reportedly chosen by Osama bin Laden to orchestrate suicide attacks on clubs and hotels in Casablanca in 2003 when 44 were killed. He is alleged to have met Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant who has killed foreign hostages in Iraq and orchestrated attacks on US-led forces. He has strongly denied this and any links to terrorism. The Moroccan authorities passed a 20-year jail sentence on him in his absence. He is alleged to have chaired a terror summit in Istanbul in 2003 to finalise plans for the Casablanca attacks. The Moroccan authorities claim that Guerbouzi, who also used the name Abu Issa, handed over £45,000 in cash to couriers from the Casablanca bombers. He was known to the British authorities as he had been living in Kilburn as a student of the militant cleric Abu Qatada. The cleric is among foreign terror suspects freed from prison recently who are tagged and kept under curfew at home. Guerbouzi was given British nationality in 1994. Intelligence chiefs allege that he set up a branch of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group in London in 2002. He has denied this. With no criminal record here and his British passport, Guerbouzi could move around Europe at will. Half a dozen intelligence services have dossiers on Guerbouzi who has not been seen since April last year. Spanish investigators claim Guerbouzi disappeared shortly after he was telephoned by the cell who carried out the bombings in Madrid. The group were surrounded by police in a flat and, it is claimed, spoke to Guerbouzi before they blew themselves up. A Spanish judge issued a warrant for his arrest days after the bombings. <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1686838,00.html> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1686838,00.html _____ FAIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976. 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