BRUSSELS, Aug 29: A Belgian court on Monday ordered 13 alleged militants suspected of indirect links with terror attacks in Casablanca and Madrid to go on trial here later this year, a spokesman said.

The 13 were among 18 men, most of them Moroccan, accused of belonging to the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group (GICM) and of offences including use of forged documents and residing illegally in Belgium.

They are also suspected of links with those responsible for the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid, in which 191 people died, and the May 2003 Casablanca attacks which left 45 dead.

A Brussels court, meeting behind closed doors, agreed with prosecutors that they should face trial, said prosecution spokesman Eric Van der Sypt. The court also dropped charges against another suspect.—AFP