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.
-
August 10 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
