Five more arrested over Madrid blasts

Spanish police have arrested five more suspects for questioning over the Madrid train bombings, bringing to 18 the number detained.

Three of the suspects had lived in Germany and were “directly involved” in planning the Madrid bombings, German television said. That could not be confirmed by Spanish authorities.

The al-Qaida terrorist network and an alleged Morocco-based cell believed to have links to al-Qaida have been the focus of suspicion in Spain’s worst terrorist attack, which killed 190 people and injured more than 1,800.

Two suspects were arrested yesterday in the Madrid area, Spanish court officials said. Three others, identified as Moroccans, were arrested on Wednesday in the Madrid region and in Ugena, 20 miles south of the capital. Their homes were being searched for evidence.

All will be questioned on Monday at the national court, the sources said.

Moroccans and at least one Syrian national were among the arrested.

The three men who reportedly lived in Germany were known to authorities there as Islamic extremists who might be ready to carry out attacks, German news channel n-tv said. They had lived legally in Germany for years.

Spanish authorities have now arrested a total of 20 suspects and released two of them.

Those arrested before Wednesday were 11 Moroccans, two Indians, one Algerian and a Spaniard.

Of those in custody, 11 have been charged and jailed pending further investigation. One Moroccan and the Algerian have been released.

The prime suspect in the bombings is Jamal Zougam, an immigrant from Morocco now in jail. Spanish court documents have linked him to members of an al-Qaida cell in Spain.

Two who were arrested last weekend – Moroccans Faisal Ullac and Khalid Oulad Akcha – were expected to go before Judge Juan del Olmo tomorrow for interrogation.

They were among four people arrested last weekend. The first two of that group, Rafa Zuher and Naima Oulad Akcha, were charged on Wednesday night with collaborating with a terrorist group, court officials said. The suspects denied the charges and condemned the March 11 bombings.

Naima Oulad Akcha is the first woman to be charged and is a sister of Khalid Oulad Akcha, who had been jailed in a separate case but brought to Madrid under Judge del Olmo’s orders.

Of the suspects charged, five have been charged with mass murder and belonging to a terrorist group and six have been charged with collaboration.

All but the two Indian suspects are being held in solitary confinement without access to lawyers or family. Except for the Spaniard, all of the charged have denied any involvement in the attacks.

The charges stop short of a formal indictment but suggest that the court has strong evidence against them. They can be jailed up to two years while investigators gather more evidence.