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Spain holds five suspected radicals
MADRID - Spain extended the detention on Monday of five alleged militants suspected of abetting the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid, which killed 191 people, court sources said. The five men face charges ranging from recruiting jihadists to helping the bombers escape after the attacks. If convicted of forming part of a terrorist group, one of the charges against them, they would face up to 14 years in prison.They were arrested last week along with 11 others who are suspected of being followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq and the head of the anti-American insurgency. A judge's decision on whether to hold these men is expected on Tuesday, the sources said. Judicial investigations in Spain, Italy, Germany and Sweden suggest Ansar al-Islam -- a group with which Washington linked Zarqawi before the Iraq war -- has emerged as the most prominent militant group engaged in fundraising and recruitment in Europe. Spanish authorities have arrested some 200 suspected Muslim extremists in recent years. Twenty-four alleged members of Al Qaeda are on trial in a specially built court house in Madrid charged with belonging to a terrorist group. Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said on Monday there remained a considerable threat from terrorism in Spain. Posted by: Steve 2005-06-20 |
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