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2 seized over Casablanca bombings

From CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman

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MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Police have arrested two suspected Islamic extremists in a Spanish enclave on Morocco's north coast, and linked them to the Casablanca bombings of 2003, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Authorities suspect the two men of belonging to the radical Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.

They are alleged to provided logistical support to the group and also to have had a role in the Casablanca bombings, in which 12 suicide bombers struck five targets in that city nearly simultaneously on May 16, 2003. The attacks killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers.

Among the targets hit were those representing Spanish and Jewish interests.

One suspect, age 43, is a Moroccan-born man who has Belgian nationality. He was identified only as Ali A. The other man, Nordin El Behri A.M., 31, was born in Spain's enclave of Melilla on Morocco's north coast, where the arrests occurred Friday.

Police seized documents, a telescope, two metal suitcases, and a laptop computer, the Interior Ministry said.

Melilla has a population of about 69,000. Spain's other enclave on Morroco's north coast, Ceuta, has a population of 77,000 and is closer to the Strait of Gibraltar.

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