Moroccan in Syria Is Blamed for Bombing in Iraq
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi government yesterday blamed a Moroccan based in Syria for a triple car bomb attack that killed at least 60 people north of Baghdad, and the defense minister called on Arab governments to demand that Syria curb the movement of foreign fighters into Iraq.
Also yesterday, the American military said an American soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in central Iraq the day before, raising to at least 93 the number of American service members who died in October, the fourth deadliest month for the troops in the Iraq war.
In a statement, the Iraqi government identified the Moroccan as Muhsen Khayber, also known as Abdul-Majid al-Libi and Abdul-Rahim, who is also sought in his homeland for the terror bombings in Casablanca in May 2003.
The statement alleged that Mr. Khayber masterminded the September 29 attack in which three vehicles exploded almost simultaneously in a mainly Shiite market town 50 miles north of Baghdad, Balad. At least 60 people were killed and about 70 were wounded. Iraqi officials offered an unspecified reward for information leading to Mr. Khayber’s arrest.
Iraqi officials did not cite any evidence to link Mr. Khayber to the Balad attacks but have long maintained that foreign Islamic extremists play a major role in the suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent months.
Spanish authorities, however, believe Mr. Khayber was part of a network linked to Ansar al-Islam, an Islamic extremist group based in northern Iraq that recruits foreign fighters to battle the American-led coalition.
The Iraqi statement said Mr. Khayber moved last year to Syria, “where he helped organize terrorist cells for foreign terrorists” who were sent to Iraq.
Arab press said Mr. Khayber was arrested in Syria in May 2004 and handed over to the Moroccans.
Moroccan government spokesman Nabil Benabdallah, reached by telephone, would say only that he had not heard of Mr. Khayber.
However, a Moroccan analyst who attended high school with Mr. Khayber, Abdellah Rami, said he doubted Mr. Khayber was in custody because he still sends money to his two wives in the Moroccan city of Larache, where he was born in 1970.
