A Spaniard who was convicted in Morocco of raping 11 children and then mistakenly pardoned by the North African country’s king must be held in jail while officials from both countries discuss his fate, a Spanish court has ruled.

A Muslim militant charged as a key suspect in the 2004 Madrid terror bombings was today turned over to Spain by Italy, where he has been convicted of terrorism, police said.

A suspected al-Qaida cell leader was today convicted of conspiring to commit murder in connection with the September 11 attacks in the United States and sentenced to 15 years in jail by a Spanish court, while two other suspects were acquitted.

A prosecutor is to seek 74,000-year prison sentences for each of three suspected al-Qaida members charged with using Spain as a staging ground for the September 11 attacks in the US.