RABAT, 16 August 2003 — Moroccan authorities have arrested a man believed to be a key link between international militant groups and local radicals accused of the suicide bombings in Casablanca in May, a newspaper reported yesterday.
The Arabic-language Al-Ahdath Al-Maghribia, known to have good access to security and intelligence sources, said physics university graduate Saad Al-Houssaini was detained earlier this week near Meknes, 140 km east of Rabat. Government officials were not immediately available for comment on the report.
The May 16 Casablanca attacks killed 44 people, including 12 suicide bombers. The government blamed a shadowy Islamist movement, the Salafist Jihad, and said some of its members had indirect links to the Al Qaeda terror network.
The newspaper said Houssaini was believed to be an aide of Mohamed El-Garbouzi, a London-based militant who set up the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, an organization the US State Department listed as a terrorist group in April.
Trials of would-be suicide bombers and other suspects are under way in Casablanca and Rabat.
