A Belgian court has found three men guilty of belonging to an Islamist group linked to terror attacks in Madrid and Casablanca, in Morocco

BBC News:

The three men were the main suspects of 13 currently on trial in Brussels.

The court ruled they were leaders of a Belgian cell of the al-Qaeda-linked Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.

The group is believed to be behind the March 2004 train bombing in Madrid, in which 191 people died, and attacks in Casablanca in May 2003 which killed 45.

The trial, which began in November, is the first to be covered by Belgium's tough new anti-terror laws.

The three convicted, all of whom are Belgian nationals of Moroccan origin, are expected to be sentenced on Thursday.

Abdelkader Hakimi, Lahoussine El Haski and Mostafa Louanani all denied charges of belonging to the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM).

But the judge ruled that they had provided logistical support to the group by allowing members to stay with them after the Madrid bombings, and by raising funds.

The court has yet to rule on the other 10 defendants in the case.

Defence lawyers have said the only evidence against some of the accused is that they knew men charged with serious crimes.

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