Serhane Ben Abdelmajid

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Serhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet (born July 10, 1968 in Tunisia , † April 3, 2004 in Leganés , Spain ) was an alleged Tunisian terrorist and probably the main culprit of the Madrid train attacks of March 11, 2004. He was also El Tunecino ( dt. "The Tunisian") called.

In 1996 Abdelmajid moved from the El Ghazala district in Tunis to Madrid to study languages ​​and economics at the Universidad Autónoma there. He did not graduate, but lived in better conditions than most migrants from the Maghreb in shared flats and had a French girlfriend. He worked as an accountant in the Madrid mosque , where he apparently gained access to Islamist circles through Al-Qaeda member Amer Azizi . According to witnesses, while he was still smoking and drinking around the year 2000, his worldview became increasingly radical until he largely isolated himself from his surroundings and also insulted moderate Muslims as unbelievers. In 2002 he married the sister of the Madrid-based Islamist Mustapha Maymuni , who is charged with participating in the 2003 attacks in Casablanca . In mid-2003 Abdelmajid started working for a real estate company.

Abdelmajid played a key role in shaping the terrorist cell that carried out the attacks of March 11, 2004 at the beginning of 2003, probably because of the Spanish involvement in the Iraq war . In the later trial of those involved, an undercover agent reported that Abdelmajid was looking for “martyrs” at the time; He spoke to contacts and possible helpers and apparently arranged for their funding when he introduced the alleged drug smuggler Jamal Ahmidam , the suspected head of operations of the train attacks, to the terrorist cell. Since the second half of 2003, he has been indicating to witnesses around him that something “big” is planned. According to the investigators' findings, he was regarded as a “dynamic element” in the radicalization of the group and as its “ideological head”. Abdelmajid had been monitored by the police until March 8, 2004, without being informed of the specific suspicion. He is also considered to be the "initiator" of the attacks, as he coordinated and steered the various groups involved and maintained contact with Al-Qaeda. Since no DNA material was found by him at the preparation sites, the investigators suspect that Abdelmajid was not involved in the execution himself, but delegated it.

During March 2004, Abdelmajid stayed in a conspiratorial apartment in the Madrid suburb of Leganés with a further six members of the terrorist cell that formed the command center of the attacks . On the night of March 27, 2004, they recorded an (unpublished, later reconstructed) video message.

After the investigative authorities had established Abdelmajid as the main suspect - four days after the train attacks, the Spanish police passed his name on to Interpol - an international arrest warrant began to search for him on March 31, 2004. The investigators initially believed that he and his group would already be outside Spain. During a raid in the Madrid suburb of Leganés on April 3, 2004, the seven members of the terror cell were tracked down in the conspiratorial apartment; First there was an exchange of fire with police officers from the special unit Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO), then the Tunisian blew himself up with his six accomplices. Apparently the group had planned further attacks, which were prevented. Before the explosion, Abdelmajid apparently called Al-Qaeda’s European chief Abu Qatada in London, presumably to announce collective suicide, and said goodbye to his wife by telephone. A police officer also died in the explosion.

Abdelmajid was buried in the Leganés cemetery in early 2006.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c Los Suicidas de Leganés. In: El Mundo , April 2004 (Spanish).
  2. ^ Al Qaeda confirma la muerte de un terrorista clave del 11-M. In: El País , May 8, 2010 (Spanish); Fernando Reinares: The Evidence of Al-Qaida's Role in the 2004 Madrid Attack. In: Combating Terrorism Center at West Point , March 22, 2012.
  3. ↑ a b Amanda Figueras: Sarhane 'el Tunecino', a radical muy conocido entre los musulmanes. In: El Mundo , April 4, 2004 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ Paloma D. Sotero: El confidente 'Cartagena' dice que vio a 'El Tunecino' con policías de la UCIE. In: El Mundo , March 7, 2007 (Spanish).
  5. ↑ a b c El suicidio colectivo en el piso de Leganés evitó otros atentados del grupo que perpetró el 11-M. In: ABC , April 2, 2005 (Spanish).
  6. ↑ José Yoldi, Jorge A. Rodríguez: La autoría intelectual del 11-M corresponde a "líderes de la insurgencia iraquí y de Al Qaeda". In: El País , September 29, 2006 (Spanish).
  7. ↑ Madrid 'Ringleader' Dies in Blast. In: BBC.co.uk , April 4, 2004 (English).
  8. ↑ F. Javier Barroso: El juez ordena enterrar en Leganés 21 meses después del 11-M a seis de los suicidas. In: El País , January 17, 2006 (Spanish).
personal data
SURNAME Ben Abdelmajid, Serhane
BRIEF DESCRIPTION suspected Tunisian terrorist
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Tunisia
DATE OF DEATH April 3, 2004
Place of death Leganes , Spain