In 2001, a network of interconnected terrorist cells in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands was uncovered by law enforcement. The network had connections to

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

and was planning to commit one or more bombings.

Plot

Three cells were involved: one in Rotterdam, one in Brussels, and one in a suburb of Paris. According to

Djamel Beghal Djamel Beghal (also transliterated as Jamel Beghal and Djamel Begal) ( ar, جمال بغال; born December 2nd 1965 in Bordj Bou Arréridj, Algeria) is an Algerian terrorist convict.Nizar Trabelsi Nizar ben Abdelaziz Trabelsi (born 2 July 1970) is a Tunisian former professional footballer. In 2003, he was convicted as terrorist and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his association with Al-Qaida, and for plotting to attack US target ...

planned to strap a bomb onto himself, cover it up with a business suit, and then detonate the bomb along with himself in the U.S. Embassy in Paris. Concurrently, a van packed with explosives would be detonated outside a U.S. cultural centre at the nearby

Place de la Madeleine Madeleine may refer to: Common meanings *Madeleine (name), also Madeline, a feminine given name *Madeleine (cake), a traditional sweet cake from France *Mary Magdalene, also called the Madeleine Arts and entertainment * ''Madelein'' (1919 fi ...

. Trabelsi denied this, but admitted that he had planned to commit a suicide bombing by detonating a car bomb next to the canteen at

Kleine Brogel Air Base Kleine Brogel Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield located east of Kleine-Brogel, in the municipality Peer, Belgium. It is home to the Belgian 10th Tactical Wing, operating F-16 Fighting Falcons, which are capable, among other ...

in Belgium. Trabelsi also said that he had met

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

and personally requested to become a suicide bomber.

Investigation

Beghal was arrested on 28 July 2001 in Dubai as he was attempting to travel back to Europe on a false French passport after visiting an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan. During interrogation, Beghal said that there was a plan to attack the U.S. Embassy in Paris and told investigators of terrorist cells in Rotterdam and Paris. He also said that

Abu Zubaydah Abu Zubaydah ( ; , ''Abū Zubaydah''; born March 12, 1971, as Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn) is a Saudi Arabian currently held by the U.S. in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He is held under the authority of Authorization for Use ...

, a close associate of Osama bin Laden, had ordered the attack. After being extradited from the United Arab Emirates to France on 1 October 2001, Beghal retracted his confession, saying that it had been extracted using torture. Surveillance of a suspected terrorist cell led by Kamel Daoudi in

Corbeil-Essonnes Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building ...

near Paris started on 10 September. Following surveillance officers overhearing discussion of destroying evidence, French police moved in and arrested seven men on 21 September. Daoudi was not among the arrested, but he was shortly thereafter arrested in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

and extradited from the United Kingdom to France on 29 September 2001. Dutch police started surveilling the Rotterdam cell in August. The four members of the cell were arrested on 13 September. Police became aware of a connection between the Rotterdam cell and one led by Trabelsi in Brussels. Trabelsi and a Belgian Moroccan were arrested in two different areas of the Brussels metropolitan area on 13 September in an operation coordinated with the arrests in the Netherlands on the same day. At Trabelsi's apartment, police found machine pistols, chemical formulas for bomb-making, detailed maps of the U.S. embassy in Paris, and a business suit. In a restaurant run by one of Trabelsi's associates, police found materials that could have been used to make a bomb capable of blowing up a building.

Legal proceedings

In December 2002, four men were found not guilty of charges relating to the plot by a Dutch court, citing insufficient and improperly obtained evidence. Two of them, Jérôme Courtailler and Abdelghani Rabia, were convicted ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'' of belonging to a terrorist organization by an appellate court on 21 June 2004, and Courtailler turned himself in on 24 June. Nizar Trabelsi was sentenced to ten years in prison by a Belgian court on 30 September 2003 for the attempted destruction of public property, illegal arms possession, and membership in a private militia, reflecting Belgium's lack of specific anti-terrorism laws at the time. It was the largest terrorism trial the country had held up to that point; seventeen others were convicted of lesser offences and another five were acquitted. Trabelsi was extradited to the United States in 2013. Six men were convicted of criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise by a French court on 15 March 2005; Djamel Beghal and Kamel Daoudi were sentenced to ten and nine years in prison, respectively, and the other four received sentences ranging from one to six years in prison. Beghal was released in 2010. Daoudi was released from prison in 2008, whereupon he was to be deported to Algeria. However, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

blocked the order, and he was instead placed under house arrest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Europe bomb plot, 2001 Al-Qaeda activities in Europe Terrorist incidents in Europe in 2001 Islamic terrorism in Belgium Islamic terrorism in France Islamic terrorism in the Netherlands Failed terrorist attempts in Europe Terrorist incidents in France Terrorist incidents in Paris 2001 in Paris

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Terrorist incidents in Belgium Terrorist incidents in the Netherlands Islamic terrorist incidents in 2001 2001 crimes in France 2000s crimes in Paris 2001 crimes in the Netherlands 2001 crimes in Belgium Attacks in France in the 2000s