Weekend terrorism shatters lives in Morocco, Middle East

A policeman inspects the wrecked terrace of the Casa de Espana restaurant in Casablanca on Saturday.

Terrorist attacks in Morocco and the Middle East claimed dozens of lives over the weekend. While government officials held emergency meetings to discuss how to deal with the aftermath of the assaults, experts discussed possible shifts in international terrorist tactics.

Israeli officials said a suicide bomber killed seven passengers aboard a commuter bus in Jerusalem on Sunday. The attack came just hours after top Israeli and Palestinian officials met for the first time in years to discuss steps toward peace.

Following the bus bombing, Israel shut down its borders with the West Bank. Palestinians there could not enter Israel for any reason after the shutdown.

Palestinian medical sources said on Sunday that Israeli gunfire killed a teen-ager in Gaza - an area controlled by Palestinians. Israeli authorities said they were checking on that report.

On Friday, suicide bombings in Morocco claimed a total of 42 lives, including those of 13 attackers. The country's interior ministry said that the assaults occurred in five different locations in Casablanca, and that most of those killed were Moroccans.

A U.S. counterterrorism expert said the tactics used in the Casablanca attacks strongly resembled those of the al Qaeda terrorist network.

SPECIAL REPORT • Interactive: The hunt for al Qaeda • Audio slide show: Bin Laden's audio message, 2/03 • Terror warning system • Special report: Terror on tape • Special report: War against terror RESOURCES • Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Palestine  • Holt, Rinehart and Winston: The Founding of Israel  • U.S. Department of State: Morocco  • U.S. Department of State: Saudi Arabia  • U.S. Department of State: Historical Background on United States - Morocco Relations  • Saudi-U.S. Relations Information Service  • CNN.com: Saudis: Suicide bombers linked to al Qaeda  • CNN.com: Morocco bombs claim another victim

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian officials also blamed al Qaeda for attacks that killed 25 people in Riyadh last week. U.S. lawmakers called for Saudi Arabia to fully commit to the international fight against terrorism.

Nations from West Africa to Southeast Asia were on guard on Sunday against more terrorist attacks, and concern ran high among officials in Britain and the United States. "Al Qaeda never went out of business...we broke the beehive but didn't kill the bees, and we certainly haven't killed the queen bee," said Sen. John Kerry. The so-called queen bee is Osama bin Laden, head of al Qaeda.

U.S. counterterrorism officials said that al Qaeda is apparently alive and well, and that the organization is now focusing on "soft targets" - undefended places like restaurants, social clubs, and hotels. Terrorists are "trying to get the point across that there is a network" in action, said Richard Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Experts say that terrorist strategy may be changing to include governments that maintain good relations with the U.S. and other Western countries as well as civilians.

Terrorism analyst Peter Bergen said that "al Qaeda is not just an organization; it's also an ideology... The people in Morocco may well not have actually been part of al Qaeda, the organization." Bergen added that they might have just signed up to attack people from the West.

U.S. officials say there is no option but to continue the fight against terrorism. However, they add that because it is largely a war against ideas, it could take decades to complete.