Five more sought in Madrid bomb probe

A Spanish judge issued international arrest warrants today for five people in connection with the Madrid train bombings, and re-arrested a released Moroccan suspect, a court official said in Madrid.

Judge Juan del Olmo issued the warrants and was to forward them to authorities in Britain, Morocco and France, said the court official.

Among the five whose arrest is sought is Abdelkrim Mejjati, a 36-year-old Moroccan who was convicted in absentia after deadly bombings in Casablanca last year and is no longer believed to be in Morocco. Those bombings killed 33 people and 12 suicide bombers.

Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes yesterday identified the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group as the main focus of investigation in the March 11 bombings in Madrid, which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800 others.

Mejjati is wanted by the FBI in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States.

Moroccan authorities have said it was unclear what role Mejjati played in the Madrid bombings.

“Mejjati is a big fish but his precise role is still uncertain,” a senior official said.

The judge also had Moroccan Fouad Almorabit re-arrested today.

Del Olmos interrogated Almorabit among a group of five suspects brought before the National Court on Monday night, and ordered him released early yesterday.