Four explosions tore through the coastal city of Casablanca Friday night, killing at least 20 people in blasts that went off near a synagogue and heavily damaged the Belgian consulate. Two policemen outside the consulate were killed and a security guard was hospitalized, Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Didier Seeuws told the Belgian news agency Belgas. A U.S. official said that the blast were caused by car bombs and at least one occurred near a synagogue. "No U.S. government facility was targeted," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore said in Washington.
| Looks like they're opening a new front... |
The Interior Ministry said at least 20 people were killed and several other injured. Security officials said there were burned-out vehicles at the four sites near consulates and restaurants in the center of the city, Morocco's economic center. It wasn't immediately clear who was behind the attacks in Morocco.
| We can make a real good guess, though... |
But U.S. counterterrorism officials in Washington had warned Friday of a coordinated effort by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network to strike lightly defended targets worlwide, citing the bombings earlier this week in Saudi Arabia as well as threats in Africa and Asia. |