Moroccan police have arrested a key suspect in the 2004 Madrid bombings and 2003 terrorist attacks in Casablanca, French media reported today.

Defence attorneys today questioned the existence of an Italian-based terrorist cell headed by an alleged ringleader of the 2004 Madrid bombings at the start of the man’s trial on charges of international terrorism and plotting another attack.

Pakistani security agencies are investigating whether one of two al-Qaida suspects they have arrested is a Syrian linked to the July 7 London bombings and believed to be a key figure in Osama bin Laden’s terror network in Europe, it emerged today.