[JURIST] The trial of 13 alleged members of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group [CDI profile] charged with conspiracy in the 2004 Madrid train bombings [JURIST news archive] is set to begin Thursday in Brussels. The suspects, most of whom were arrested last year in Belgium, are accused of providing financial and other support to the Madrid bombers, as well as being involved in a 2003 bombing at a Casablanca nightclub. All are being tried under a new Belgian anti-terror law that criminalizes terrorist acts and association with terrorist groups. The suspects range in age from 24 to 42 and most are native Moroccans or of Moroccan descent. One of the main suspects, Yussef Belhadj, will be tried in absentia after being extradited to Spain [JURIST report] to face charges in connection with the bombing. AKI has more.