Europe's War on Terrorism

By Sean Gregory

A sliver of good news from across the Atlantic: things could be much worse. Since the 2004 bombings in Madrid, authorities across the Continent have ramped up counterterrorism efforts, making hundreds of arrests and foiling several large-scale plots. Here's a rundown of some notable successes.

1) BRITAIN

British authorities charged eight citizens last August with conspiracy to launch chemical attacks. One suspect, Dhiren Barot, a purported senior al-Qaeda frontman in Britain, allegedly possessed reconnaissance plans of four U.S. financial institutions that were the focus of a U.S. terrorism alert earlier in the month.

2) GERMANY

An Iraqi and suspected al-Qaeda member, identified only as Ibrahim Mohamed K, right, was arrested in the city of Mainz in January for allegedly planning suicide attacks in Iraq. Authorities say he also tried to buy uranium in Luxembourg.

3) ITALY

In June 2004 police arrested Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, a.k.a. Mohamed the Egyptian, right, in Milan. Ahmed had made calls to radical contacts elsewhere in Europe, boasting he was the mastermind of the Madrid strikes.

4) TURKEY

Sixteen suspected members of Ansar al-Islam, a group linked to al-Qaeda, were arrested by Turkish police in Bursa in April 2004 for allegedly preparing to bomb the June 2004 NATO meeting in Istanbul.

5) LEBANON

In September 2004 a plot to blow up the Italian embassy in Beirut, above, was foiled when Lebanese authorities arrested 10 people, including al-Qaeda operative Ismail Mohammed al-Khatib. Al-Khatib died of a heart attack in custody.

6) BELGIUM

Belgian police detained Youssef Belhadj, below, on Feb. 1 for his alleged role in the Madrid bombings. Authorities say he could be the al-Qaeda spokesman who claimed responsibility for the attacks on video.

7) FRANCE

In an effort to curb the flow of support for insurgents in Iraq, police swept the cities of Montpellier and Limoges in June, arresting Hamid Bach, a Moroccan who allegedly stockpiled bombmaking materials in his home and tried to enter Iraq a year ago. Police last month detained a 19-year-old man, left, in Vernaison who possessed detonators, chemicals and pictures of Osama bin Laden in his flat.

8) SPAIN

Some three dozen Madrid-bombing suspects are in custody. In October 2004 Spanish authorities detained about 30 North Africans connected with a terrorist cell that was planning to attack Spain's national court in Madrid. This June, police arrested 16 terrorism suspects across Spain, including 11 who were allegedly recruited for suicide missions in Iraq and have ties to Iraq terrorism kingpin Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi.

>> THE NETHERLANDS

Dutch police in November arrested members of the Hofstad Islamist group after the murder of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker critical of Muslims' treatment of women.

>> CANARY ISLANDS

A Moroccan man with al-Qaeda links was arrested in December for his alleged role in Madrid.