Spain Announces Five Arrests in Bombings

Reuters, AP | 3/13/04

[OXENinFLA]

Source: http://www.elmundo.es

Translated by

http://www.worldlingo.com/

MADRID.- The minister of the Interior, Acebes Angel, has announced the halting of three Moroccans and two Hindus by his presumed entailment with the attacks in the capital. The arrested ones they would be related to the phonecard prepayment found in the knapsack pump that the police deactivated next to the police station of Vallecas.

Acebes explained that the last finding of the security forces was the one of a stock market of sports that it contained an explosive of Plastic explosive of the mark ECHO made in Spain, reinforced with shrapnel to multiply its effect, along with a detonator and a movable telephone. The detonator was just as found Thursdays in a van in Alcala de Henares and were made in copper and not in aluminum, that are those that usually uses ETA.

In his appearance of Thursday, the minister of the Interior related the attack to the attempts of ETA to cause a massacre in Nochevieja of 2002, and Christmas Eve of 2003 in Chamartín and the Valley of Arán.

The experts in the antiterrorist fight also are looking for DNA tests in gloves, a jersey and a t-shirt that were inside the van of Alcala de Henares. In addition they are studying tens of gathered digital tracks in the vehicle.
The found movable telephone in the knapsack of Vallecas, card prepayment and the Trium mark, was programmed so that its alarm sounded to one hour certain and to activate therefore the explosive. In addition, according to the chain informs To be, the configuration of the options of the apparatus was in Spanish.

As far as the explosives, to the Civil Guard it does not consist no robbery months in the last to him. The Plastic explosive is dedicated to public works and mining and makes in Spain, but also in several paises European, mainly in Germany, Czech Republic and Poland. In our country, the producer is Spanish Union of Riotinto Explosives, that has registered no robbery neither in factory, nor in deposits, nor in transport, although there are other companies that concern it of the outside and they sell it here. Sources of the antiterrorist fight have needed that it is very dificil that somebody can remove a as important amount of explosives as the used one by the terrorists in Madrid.

With respect to the tape in Arab with versicles of the Corán found in the van located in Alcala de Henares, in which also were identical timers to which there were in stock-market of sports, the minister assured that "there are no new data".

30 years of terrorism

Friday, before the appearance of Acebes, the president of the government Jose Mª Aznar pronounced itself in the same line that the minister of Interior. "the religious fanaticism only marks differences in its alibis, but all the terrorists obey to the same killer impulse". In his appearance after his last Cabinet like president of the Government, Jose Maria Aznar has wanted to leave very clear that the Executive does not discard "any line of investigation" - ETA or Islamic terrorists of A the Qaeda- on whom is after the attacks.

Nevertheless, an Executive "with two fingers front in Spain has wondered itself if, after 30 years of terrorism, before an attack as the one of yesterday does not have to think logically, reasonably, that he has to be that band the author".

"What tried that terrorist organization when it wanted to enter the week last Madrid 500 kilos of explosives?", the president has said, who has also remembered the examples exposed by Acebes.

Aznar has refused to pronounce itself on if the route of investigation of ETA has greater force than the one than it aims at the Islamic terrorism, because it is not going "to play quinielas". The same Acebes has done, that has insisted on which "ETA continues being the main line of investigation".

The Government is not going to work "on hypothesis", but on "safe information", the president has declared, who thinks that "the minister of the Interior did what had to do" Thursday, when talked about at a first moment the ETA responsibility.

Doubts on the responsibility

The doubts on the responsibility arose same Thursday. In principle, the minister of the Interior, Acebes Angel assured butcher who "did not fit any doubt to him" that ETA was behind the massacre.

Hours later, the own minister of Interior returned to appear in press conference to announce the finding in Alcala de Henares of a van that had been robbed in Madrid the 28 of February and in that were eight detonators and one tape with versicles of the Corán. The hypothesis of A the Qaeda took force.

Later, in a supposed letter of A the Qaeda sent to a published Arab newspaper in London, the Brigades of Abu Hafs To the Masri vindicated their responsibility of the attack. The organization attributed the massacre to a "adjustment of old accounts" with Spain.

[elhombrelibre]

Don't forget that Kerry said the terrorism threat was overplayed and that the police should deal with it.

[Kaslin]

FOX NEWS ALERT

SPAIN ARRESTS 3 MOROCCANS AND 2 INDIANS IN MADRID BOMBINGS

[Husker24]

How long before Kerry says that Bush has Spanish blood on his hands because these people were killed in protest against Spains support of the war in Iraq?

[livius]

All were arrested in Madrid, they only mentioned five (I'm listening to the Spanish press conference).

[battousai]

"Interior Minister announces the arrest of five persons - three Morroccans and two Hindus, and other Spaniards of Hindu origin..."

I just heard the same thing on the BBC, and it makes no sense why would Hindu Indians of all people want to help some Islamofascists. The BBC also said that the suspects were tracked down by cell phones found in the explosive ladened bags, not sure if they mean ones that actually exploded or the other ones they managed to find and deal with.

[anymouse]

Anyone wondering why this witness didn't call a cop? 3 guys wearing ski masks carrying full backpacks has got to set off some warning thoughts even in a calous observer. Of course they could just been your garden variety leftist/anarchist/socialists heading down to the local WTO protest. /sarcasm

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Thanks for stating the obvious for those who didn't catch it.:) Sheesh I think I may have to change my tagline for those who have never seen me posts...

[elhombrelibre]

Kerry is clueless. He'll want Spain to go to the UN.

[thoughtomator]

They blamed it on Spain immediately. At the memorial in New York yesterday, there was one woman with a protest sign blaming Anzar for the bombing, as if he bought the bombs himself... everyone told her how despicable she was.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1096982/posts

[livius]

They still say 3 Moroccans, two Hindus and other Hindus. They say they are not the ones who carried the bombs, but people who supplied the phone cards, etc.

[VOA]

"Three Morocans and 1 Indian. "

I'm hoping this will allow the governments of Spain, Morocco and India to work
together for justice.
Morocco, at least their government and most of their people appear to be on the right
side of the War on Terrorism.

Just this week, I heard a report on the radio show run by Concerned Women For America about
a delegation's encouraging report on improvements in the Moroccan education system, especially
with increasing access for females, as well as for boys and girls in rural areas.
Plus the King of Morocco has constructed some sort of new, groundbreaking edict that has added
a lot of the "rights" we have here, while artfully crafting support from Islamic scripture
for this sort of enlightened step (in getting on the right side of history).
I think there is an audio file of the broadcast here:

http://www.cwfa.org/radio.asp?broadcastID=2147&mode=detail

[Trillian]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8964146%5E1702,00.html

[Licensed-To-Carry]

"Some 13% of India's population is Muslim"

Just because they're from India doesn't mean they're Hindu.

[dennisw]

They still say 3 Moroccans, two Hindus and other Hindus........

That's gotta be a mistranslation with the "Hindus" actaully being Muslims with Indian citizenship.

[hellinahandcart]

Close enough.

[Dog]

They're the support cell..

[Peach]

That would be a terrific outcome from all of this.

[thoughtomator]

Maybe they are Muslims falsely claiming to be Hindus?

[Hamza01]

Yeah. Wahabbis won't even shake hands with Hindus. They won't even closely associate with Shiite Muslims or non-Wahabbist Sunnis. Let alone work with with Indian Hindus. I can't see the Hindu angle.