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Spanish judge jails seven Islamic militant suspects

17 Dec 2006 11:09:18 GMT
Source: Reuters

MADRID, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A Spanish high court judge jailed seven of 11 suspected Islamic militants arrested in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta last week, and freed the other four, the court said on Sunday.

The seven suspects provisionally jailed in Madrid, pending charges, are not allowed bail. The other four have to keep the court informed of their whereabouts.

The seven are suspected of belonging to an armed group called Salafia Yihadia, part of Al Qaeda's operation in North Africa, judge Baltasar Garzon said in a document.

"The focus of this group is the Darkawia mosque. In this the leaders of the group...carried out proselytising and recruiting workto create a Yihad (Jihad) with international connections in Morocco, using common crime as a means of finance," he added. In 2006 the group started planning acts of violence and plotting to steal weapons from a military arsenal.

Hundreds of police took part in last week's arrests in the largely Muslim Principe Alfonso neighbourhood of Ceuta. They seized forged documents, a flak jacket and an air pistol as well as cash, computers and mobile phones from the suspects' homes, officials said.

Those jailed include two brothers of Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed, the so-called "Spanish Taliban" who spent two years in U.S. detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but was freed earlier this year after terrorism charges against him in Spain were overturned, court officials said.

The investigation into radical Islam in Ceuta which led to the arrests began in March 2005, the Interior Ministry said. Those arrested were all men in their 20s and 30s.

Ceuta is one of two Spanish enclaves on the Moroccan coast. It and Melilla have been in Spanish hands for hundreds of years but have large Muslim populations.

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Last updated:Sun Dec 17 11:11:10 2006