US special forces troops have arrived in several north African countries over recent months amid Pentagon warnings that the region runs the risk of becoming an al-Qaida recruiting ground and a possible back door into Europe. Three days before the Madrid bombing, where the first arrests included three Moroccans detained on Saturday, the deputy commander of the Stuttgart-based US European command – which covers all of Africa except the Horn – warned that al-Qaida had an interest in north Africa. “We have to get ahead of it,” General Charles Wald told a group of African reporters in Washington. Units of around 200 from the US army’s 10th Special Forces Group are already installed, or are due to arrive, in Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger to train their armies in anti-terrorism tactics and to improve coordination with the US military. Full Story
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