Spanish police hold five more bombing suspects
Morocco rounded up associates of a key suspect with alleged al-Qaida ties.
The arrests brought the total number of suspects in custody to 11 and came as Spain marked a week since the bombings that killed 201 people, brought terror to the heart of Europe and damaged Spanish relations with the US.
At least three of the new suspects are Moroccans.
Three were arrested in, or near, Alcala de Henares, a town outside Madrid where three of four trains bombed on March 11 had originated, said court officials in Madrid.
Of the two other suspects, one was arrested in Oviedo in the north of Spain. Police believe the suspects may have played a direct role in the bombings and might also have been involved in suicide attacks that killed 33 people and 12 bombers in the Moroccan coastal city of Casablanca in May, 2003.
There were few immediate details about the fifth new suspect. Newsagency Efe said he was of north African origin. Interior Minister Angel Acebes confirmed "the investigation is advancing" but would not comment on the latest arrests.
The investigation moved forward with the first court appearance of prime suspect Jamal Zougam and two other Moroccans and two Indians arrested on Saturday.
An Algerian is also in custody as police investigate suspicions he may have had advance warning of Spain's worst terrorist attack.
Zougam, 30, a Moroccan phone seller in Madrid, has emerged as the key suspect and police in his home country were yesterday rounding up his associates for questioning.
With four other suspects, he was taken to a Madrid court yesterday afternoon for questioning by Judge Juan del Olmo.
The five were initially held under anti-terrorism statutes that allow up to five days of police interrogation before a court appearance and access to lawyers.
The judge was to determine whether they should be held for further investigation which would suggest there is strong evidence against them or released.
Spanish law enforcement agencies had been aware of Zougam's alleged links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network since at least 2001, when they searched his Madrid apartment.
They found videos, including one that contained a bin Laden interview, and phone numbers for suspected al-Qaida members.
Alcala de Henares is also where police found a van with detonators and a cassette tape with verses from the Koran just hours after the bombings.
A witness said he saw three men with covered faces carrying backpacks toward the town's train station before the attack.
Moroccan authorities suspect Ansar al-Islam, an Islamic extremist guerrilla group blamed for terrorist strikes in Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and Morocco, of being behind the Madrid bombings.
Officials in the north African kingdom said evidence shows Zougam had links to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi a key operative with strong ties to Ansar.
