US embassy cable - 04MADRID1141

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001141 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, SP, Counterterrorism 
SUBJECT: SPAIN TERRORISM UPDATE: MARCH 11 TERRORISTS BLOW 
THEMSELVES UP; ETA LEADERS CAPTURED 
 
Summary 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please Protect Accordingly. 
 
1.  (SBU) Three weeks after the March 11 terror train bomb 
attacks, terrorism and the police fight against it continue 
to dominate the Spanish political and media landscape.   In 
recent days, the police scored two successes: tracking down 
the suspected leaders of the March 11 attacks to a Madrid 
suburb and, on the ETA front, working with French police to 
capture three prominent ETA members and an ETA arsenal in 
France.   The dramatic shoot-out and the suicide of five 
Islamist terrorists April 3 stunned Spain.   End Summary. 
 
Five Terrorists Kill Themselves After Shoot-out with Police 
 
2.   (SBU) Thanks to the tracing of cell phone information, 
police tracked the presumed leaders of the terror cell 
responsible for the March 11 terrorist train bombings to an 
apartment complex in Leganes, a populous  Madrid suburb, on 
April 3.   The terrorists opened fire as police approached. 
 After a two-hour standoff, the terrorists blew themselves up 
as a SWAT team (known as GEO) began to move on the apartment. 
  The front wall of the apartment was blown out. 
 
3.  (SBU) The shoot out and the terrorists' decision to blow 
themselves up, while chanting "God is Great,"  stunned Spain. 
  According to the police, five terrorists were killed, 
although one of the bodies was so badly mutilated that it has 
not yet been identified.   Acting Interior Minister Angel 
Acebes announced April 4 that Serhan ben Abdelmajid Fakhet 
aka "the Tunisian," the presumed leader of the cell that 
carried out the March 11 terrorist attacks, was among the 
dead terrorists.   On April 5, Acebes said that another of 
the bodies was that of Jamal Ahmidan aka the "Chino" another 
presumed cell leader.    Judge Juan Del Olmo had put out an 
international arrest warrant for them April 1.  Another of 
the dead terrorists, Abdennabi Kounjaa, aka Abdullah, had 
been identified by witnesses as one of those who planted 
bombs on the trains March 11.  The Spanish police GEO team 
leader was killed in the explosion and three other GEO 
seriously wounded, although they are in stable condition. 
 
GOMA 2 Explosives Same as Those Used March 11 
 
4.  (SBU) Acebes said that the explosives the terrorists used 
April 3, GOMA 2, was the same as that employed in the March 
11 train bombings and the same as the explosives that were 
left on the tracks of the Madrid-Seville AVE train on April 
2.    The detonators police found in Leganes were also the 
same as in the other cases.  Police said that at least one 
suicide belt was found on the site, along with at least 10 kg 
of unexploded GOMA 2.   In addition, machine guns found were 
the same as those displayed in a video the terrorists made 
claiming credit for the March 11 attacks. 
 
Terrorist Message: Pull Troops Out of Iraq and Afghanistan 
 
5.  (SBU)  The conservative ABC newspaper received a message 
dated April 3 from a group calling itself the "Ansar al Qaeda 
in Europe."   The note, in Arabic, claimed credit for the 
March 11 attacks and the April 2 AVE train bombing attempt 
and pledged more terrorist attacks unless the GOS immediately 
pulls all Spanish troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.  If this 
is not done, the group promised to turn Spain into a "hell" 
and to have "blood flowing like rivers."   The note 
threatened: "we have the capacity to attack when and where we 
want."    Some media link the "Tunisian" and "Chino" (above) 
to Ansar al Qaeda. 
 
Success Against ETA 
 
6.  (SBU) Overshadowed by the confrontation with the March 11 
terror cell members were important successes against ETA 
April 2.    French police, with the support of the Guardia 
Civil, arrested two ETA leaders and another long-standing ETA 
member.   One of the arrested was Felix Ignacio Esparza, a 
veteran of over 20 years with ETA, who is believed to have 
been head of logistics.   Police also arrested Felix Lopez de 
la Calle aka Mobutu, a notorious veteran of 25 years with ETA 
and a leader (perhaps the top leader) in ETA's military wing. 
  Police believe the arrest of veteran ETA members represents 
another sign of ETA's weakness in the face of a police and 
judicial offensive meant to destroy the organization's 
operational effectiveness.   The arrests also reflect the 
depth of current Spanish-French cooperation in the fight 
against ETA.   The arrests led police to one of the largest 
ETA arsenals uncovered in recent years.   It contained 
automatic weapons, explosives, grenades, detonators, and car 
bombs. 
Three Letter Bombs 
7.  (SBU) In yet another terror incident, on April 1 Spanish 
police deactivated three letter bombs.  One was destined for 
Channel 3 TV, another for the conservative newspaper La 
Razon, and another for the radio network COPE, all located in 
Madrid.   The letters were detected by the postal service and 
did not arrive at their destinations.    Who sent them is 
unknown, though media speculate that an unidentified 
anarchist group may have been responsible. 
 
Comment 
 
8.  (SBU) As the events above illustrate, Spaniards have had 
little respite from terrorism since March 11.   Police 
successes against the March 11 terror cell and the ETA 
members are impressive.   However, the presence of Islamist 
extremists in Madrid ready and willing to commit suicide and 
determined to kill as many civilians as possible to advance 
their goals  has unsettled Spaniards, as did April 3 images 
from Iraq of Spanish troops fighting off mobs of angry 
Shiites in Najaf. 
MANZANARES