Madrid terror attack suspect 'died in Iraq fighting'

An Algerian fugitive suspected of playing a key role in the Madrid terror bombings of 2004 died in Iraq while fighting US-led forces, a newspaper reported today.

Spanish investigators learned from foreign intelligence services that Daoud Ouhnane died in Iraq in October or November 2006, El Pais said, quoting a confidential police report.

The report said that after fleeing Spain following the string of bombs that targeted the Madrid rail network on March 11, 2004, Ouhnane was in contact with suspected Islamic extremists in Catalonia in 2005 and 2006, El Pais said.

Police could not be reached for comment today.

Spanish investigators have said another key suspect in the Madrid attacks, Moroccan Mohamed Afalah, is believed to have died in a suicide attack in Iraq in 2005.

Over the past two years, Spanish police have arrested dozens of people suspected of recruiting Islamic fighters for the insurgency in Iraq.

At least two other suspected ringleaders of the Madrid massacre are still apparently at large, although they are believed to have fled Spain shortly after the attack.

The Madrid bombings killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800. A total of 28 people who stood trial in the case are awaiting a verdict on October 31.

The attacks were claimed by Muslim militants who said they had acted on behalf of al-Qaida to avenge the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq, but Spanish authorities say there is no evidence al-Qaida ordered or financed the attacks.