More Madrid bomb suspects arrested
From Al Goodman
CNN Madrid Bureau
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police have arrested six Spaniards in the northern region of Asturias in connection with the Madrid train bombings last March, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
Among the six is Carmen Toro, wife of Jose Emilio Suarez, the only Spaniard charged so far in the bombings.
Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso made the announcement at a televised news conference in Madrid.
Alonso said those arrested also include Toro's brother, Antonio Toro.
Another suspect, Emilio Llano, was a guard at the La Conchita mine in the Asturias region, where authorities suspect the explosives were obtained for the March 11 bombings that killed 190 people and wounded more than 1,800.
Alonso said that a 32-year-old Egyptian, arrested late Monday in Milan, Italy, was a "key figure in the preparation and organization of the Madrid attacks" and was a man of "very high importance in al Qaeda in Spain and the European Union."
The Egyptian, Rabei Osman el Sayed Ahmed -- known to investigators as "Mohamed the Egyptian" -- is charged in Italy with belonging to an international terrorism organization. (Full story)
Alonso said the Spanish Cabinet is expected Friday to formally approve a court's request to extradite Sayed Ahmed to Spain.
Sayed Ahmed was one of two suspects arrested in Italy since Monday. Those arrests and 15 more in Belgium were part of a three-month probe in the case that investigators said may lead to even more arrests.
Before the Italian arrests 20 people -- most of them Moroccan -- had been charged in connection with the attacks.
A Spanish interior ministry spokesman said investigators there have linked Sayed Ahmed to Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, a Tunisian who they say was a ringleader in the attacks.
Fakhet was among the suspected terrorists who blew themselves up April 3 as Spanish police closed in on their hideout in a Madrid suburb.
Spanish authorities have asked for international arrest warrants for more than 10 people for alleged links to the bombings.
They also maintain a separate list of others being sought, although international arrest warrants have not necessarily been asked for those people.
