At least 41 people were killed and scores more wounded in a string of bomb blasts that rocked Morocco's largest city Casablanca, leaving a trail of bloody carnage as the world was on alert for terror attacks.
Belgium's consulate, a Jewish centre and cemetery, an international hotel and a bustling Spanish restaurant were hit by almost simultaneous explosions as residents were enjoying a Friday night out.
The five attacks follow a triple suicide bombing on Monday in Saudi Arabia blamed on al-Qaeda that killed 34 people, amid a series of terror alerts issued by Western governments for the Middle East, east Africa and Southeast Asia.
"These attacks bear the hallmarks of international terrorism," Moroccan Interior Minister Mostafa Sahel said Saturday.
It is the first time the north African kingdom, a staunch US ally that has been facing growing Muslim fundamentalism, has been hit by such a devastating attack.
The explosions caused chaos and panic in the city centre, with bloodied bodies and limbs on the streets, buildings bombed out, cars wrecked and glass and debris strewn about.
Officials said 41 people had been killed and about 100 injured.
"It's a bloodbath," said 40-year-old Hamid, at the scene of the bombing at a Spanish restaurant where about 20 people were believed to have been killed.
Top Pentagon official Paul Wolfowitz blamed the blasts on "terrorists" seeking to block progress in the Arab world, while Russia said they bore the "signature" of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
"These despicable acts come as another reminder that the fight against terrorism is a permanent priority that will require long-term efforts and active and close international cooperation," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.
Officials said the victims were mainly Moroccans, although a Spanish diplomat said a Spanish national was believed to be among the dead.
The official MAP news agency said those killed included a hotel doorman and two police officers posted at the Belgian consulate.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, although the interior minister said there were similarities linking the Casablanca explosions with Monday's attacks in the Saudi capital.
He said three Moroccan suspects had been arrested, including one would-be suicide bomber injured in the blasts.
The deadliest of the blasts was at the Casa de Espana, a Spanish restaurant and cultural centre where a crowd of people were having dinner. Around 20 people are believed to have been killed including an elderly Frenchman who had lived in the country for about 40 years.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, whose country was one of the closest US allies in the Iraq crisis, blamed the attacks on "terrorism fuelled by a cruel and pitiless fanaticism."
Officials said three of the bombs were planted in cars, which exploded outside the Belgian consulate, at the Farah hotel - better known by its former name, the Safir - and at a Jewish cultural centre.
Witnesses of the attack on the Jewish centre said the bodies of two suicide bombers were pulled out of the rubble. They said the toll would have been much higher had the centre not been hit after the start of the Jewish Sabbath.
A Belgian foreign ministry spokesman said the bomb that went off near the consulate may not have been aimed at the mission, adding that a US diplomat lived in a house close to the blast site, and that an Italian restaurant nearby was apparently Jewish-owned.
"The terrorists' goal was to disrupt Morocco's democratic process and political pluralism," Sahel said. "Morocco will not be intimidated by those who choose to kill innocent people."
The attacks came after Morocco delayed municipal elections that were due to be held in June, a move the local press said was linked to the increasing influence of Islamic fundamentalists in the mainly Muslim country.
Many members of radical Islamist groups have been arrested in Morocco in recent months.
"That they should choose to attack Morocco tells something about their terrible motivation," Wolfowitz said in Macedonia. "Morocco stands out in the Arab world as a country that is making significant strides towards democracy and I think the terrorists are opposed to progress."
In February al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden cited Morocco among a list of "apostate" Arab nations in a cassette message distributed to the media.
That month, three Saudi nationals accused of being part of an al-Qaeda cell were sentenced to 10 years in prison for plotting attacks against Western targets in Morocco and the Strait of Gibraltar last year.
Six Moroccan accomplices received jail terms of up to a year.
Australia, Britain and the United States - which have stepped up their intelligence cooperation since the September 11, 2001 attacks - released a wave of terrorism warnings to their citizens in recent days.
The move follows the end of the US-led war on Iraq, that was opposed by Morocco and triggered several demonstrations against the US action.
The US State Department released terrorism alerts covering the Middle East, north Africa, the Gulf and east Africa, while Britain also this week suspended all flights to and from Kenya because of an "imminent" terrorist threat.
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