The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report
Mar. 17 -- An explosion ripped through a hotel in central Baghdad on Wednesday night, killing at least 27, news wires report. Witnesses say the explosion occurred at the Hotel Jabal Lebanon, behind Firdaus Square, where a bronze statue of Saddam Hussein was felled April 9 with the help of U.S. Marines who had just entered the center of the Iraqi capital. There are conflicting press reports about how the attack was executed, with some reporting a car bomb and others reporting a rocket struck the building.
Plus, more on the ongoing investigation behind last week's train bombings in Madrid which killed over 200 people — counter-terror agents have learned that two of the suspects were known to investigators years ago. The prime suspect in the investigation, Jamal Zougam, has been linked to a vast network of Islamic radicals and caught the attention of Spanish investigators as early as 2001, when police searched his apartment and found jihadi training videos and contact numbers for other al Qaeda members.
THE WAR IN IRAQ
Blast Rips Through Baghdad Hotel; Several DeadA powerful blast ripped through a Baghdad hotel and several neighboring buildings on Wednesday evening, killing several people and sending a plume of flames and smoke into the night sky in the center of the city. (Reuters)
U.S., Iraqi Forces Launch Massive Hunt
U.S. and Iraqi forces launch massive operation in Baghdad to hunt for insurgents, weapons. (AP)
Sources: Zarqawi Detained in Iran for Months
"Informed Iraqi sources" told Asharq Al Awsat newspaper that Abu Musaab Al Zarqawi has been in an Iranian prison since April of last year. His detention was part of an unfinished deal with Washington, through which Tehran was hoping the U.S. would crackdown on the Iranian opposition group Mujaheddin Khalq in Iraq, explained the sources. Zarqawi is believed to have been arrested after the attacks on the bases of the Kurdish group Ansar Al Islam by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters supported by U.S. air strikes. The group's leaders fled into Iran, but returned to Iraq after the war ended. (Asharq Al Awsat)
U.S. military spokesman General Mark Kimmitt rejected this report on camera this evening. Kimmit said that the military believes that Zarqawi is "alive and responsible for the attacks" in Iraq.
Troops in, Troops Out
U.S. Troop Rotation in Iraq Is Largest Since WWII. (ABCNEWS)
U.S. Official: Saddam Not Giving Much Information
Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is not giving up much useful information under interrogation but he is talking to his captors, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. (Reuters)
THE WAR ON TERROR
INVESTIGATIONS
Spain
Madrid Suspects Were Known Years Ago
Two suspects in Madrid bombing were known to anti-terrorism investigators years ago. (AP)
Moroccan Group Suspected in Madrid Attacks
Spanish investigators suspect a militant Moroccan group linked to al Qaeda was behind the Madrid train bombings that killed 201 people, El Pais newspaper has reported. (Reuters)
Profile: The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
The group was founded in Afghanistan in 1996 by a Moroccan called Mohammed Al Karbouzi aka Abu Issa, who now lives in disguise in Britain. Abdelaziz Benyaich and his brother held senior positions in the group, which has many of its members in Europe. After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, all of al Qaeda followers were ordered to go back to their countries, whether Arab or European. Military wings of the network were then formed in Europe. Abu Dujana Al Afghani, who appeared on the video tape claiming responsibility for the Madrid attacks, is believed to belong to one of these wings, while Abu Musaab Al Zarqawi is believed to be the coordinator between all the different wings. (Asharq Al Awsat)
