Spanish police arrest 11 'with links to bin Laden'

War on terrorism: Suspects

Spanish police arrested 11 members of a group linked to Osama bin Laden that recruited people to carry out terrorist attacks, the Interior Ministry said. It is Spain's second round-up of suspects in connection with the 11 September attacks.

The Interior Minister, Mariano Rajoy, said police arrested "the leading members of the Spanish infrastructure of the mujahedin movement ... which forms part of the network of Osama bin Laden".

Among those arrested was Emaz Edim Baraktyarkas, a Syrian with Spanish nationality. The rest were Tunisian and Algerian. Ten were detained in Madrid and one in Granada after a two-year investigation.

"Their activities included recruiting people to attend training camps ... and later commit terrorist acts, and providing false documents to people close to these groups" passing through Spain to other EU countries, Mr Rajoy said.

Police said the detainees were responsible for the group's international relations, and had attended meetings in Pakistan, Yemen, the Philippines, Qatar and Afghanistan.