 Police on Wednesday arrested a Moroccan and three Algerians in connection with an alleged plot by a radical Islamic cell to blow up a court and other buildings in Spain, officials said. The three Algerians, who were not immediately identified, were arrested Wednesday night in the southeastern city of Gandia. One was described as a right-hand man of Mohamed Achraf, who police suspect of masterminding a plot to ram a truck loaded with 1,100 pounds of explosives into Madrid's National Court, a hub of anti-terror investigations. Achraf is being held in Switzerland, and Spain last week requested his extradition.
| "Gather yer gear, Mohamed, yer comin' wit us!" |
The Moroccan, Faisal Allouch, 24, arrested earlier at his home in the outskirts of Madrid, was already a suspect in the Madrid train bombings. Allouch had been among the first of dozens of suspects arrested over the March 11 train bombings, and jailed in late March over his alleged links to key figures. The judge in the case released him on May 5, but said Allouch remained a suspect and ordered him to report to court daily. There was no immediate word on why he was sought over the new plot.
Judge Baltasar Garzon Tuesday filed terrorism charges against 12 North Africans in that case, accusing them of belonging to a cell that allegedly plotted to blow up the National Court and possibly other Madrid buildings. This raised to 30 the number of people charged. Garzon also issued international arrest warrants against 10 other suspects. He said the cell broken up earlier this month for allegedly plotting to blow up the court had prepared a backup team with other possible targets, including Madrid's biggest soccer stadium and the headquarters of the conservative Popular Party. The charges stop short of a formal indictment but let the judge keep suspects in jail for up to two years as he continues to investigate. Authorities say the court plot was organized by a cell of Islamic extremists known as the "Martyrs for Morocco," allegedly set up by Achraf while he served time in a Spanish prison for credit card fraud between 1999 and 2002. A Swiss delegation led by federal prosecutor Valentin Roschacher met Wednesday with Garzon to discuss the case, court officials said without elaborating. The Swiss delegation consists of lawyers and police representatives.
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