62 suspects linked to Madrid bombs
By CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police arrested 131 suspected Islamic terrorists in 2004, and nearly half of them, or 62 suspects, were linked to the Madrid train bombings of last March 11, the Interior Minister announced.
Jose Antonio Alonso said 42 other suspects were connected to an unsuccessful plot to blow up the courthouse that handles terrorism cases.
Spanish media reports have recently said that more than 100 Islamic terror suspects had been arrested since the train bombings, but Alonso provided the specifics at news conference to summarize police activity in 2004.
In addition to the Islamic terrorists suspects, he said Spanish police in 2004 arrested 74 suspected members or collaborators of the Basque separatist group ETA, while French police arrested 57 others, including ETA's suspected top leadership last October in France.
Spain continues to work closely with its European neighbors and other nations to keep the pressure on Islamic terrorists, Alonso said. Regarding ETA, he said that despite the string of arrests, Spanish police remain on "maximum alert" and cannot let down their guard against an ETA that can still carry out attacks.
ETA is blamed for more than 800 killings in the past 36 years in its fight for an independent Basque homeland and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
Alonso said a Basque sovereignty plan approved last month by the Basque regional parliament - and now facing an uphill battle in the Spanish parliament in Madrid - would not affect in any way the constant police pressure against ETA activists.
The March 11 bombings against four crowded commuter trains during the morning rush hour killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,600, the Interior Ministry said in a 212-page report, made public Wednesday, on its activities in 2004.
The ministry said terrorists linked to al Qaeda had claimed responsibility for the attack. The first arrests were announced just days after the bombings and throughout 2004, the total number of suspects detained reached 62.
Many, but not all, have been charged in the case. Nearly 20 remain in jail while others have been released although they still face lesser charges, such as collaboration in the attack, rather than direct involvement.
The judge handling the train bombings has indicated he hopes to conclude the investigation before the first anniversary of the attacks. That could result in indictments and pave the way for trials.
A second group of Islamic suspected terrorists were arrested in the so-called Operation Nova, which authorities say planned to blow up the National Court in central Madrid with a truck bomb. The court investigates and tries cases of terrorism, and houses the offices of the principal judges involved in anti-terror investigation.
In addition to the arrests of Islamic terror suspects, and of suspected ETA operatives, the police have seized large quantities of explosives, weapons, ammunition and numerous documents which has aided the ongoing investigations, Alonso said.
