Madrid
Islamic militants in Spain asked al Qaida for help in carrying out the March 11 train bombings that killed 192 people in Madrid, Spanish authorities said this week. Investigators said that Amer Azizi, a known al Qaida operative, met in Turkey last year with Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, the ringleader of the Madrid bombers. Azizi told Fakhet that his group could not offer direct assistance to the cell in Spain, officials said, but would allow the use of the al Qaida name. A British Muslim cleric may also have been involved in the deadly plot. The seven militants in the Spanish cell who blew themselves up in an apartment two weeks ago made a phone call to Britain just before the explosion.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's oppositionThe Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
-
How the woke right gained power in the USUnder the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
