Spanish and US counterterrorism officials said yesterday that investigators were zeroing in on what they fear is an Al Qaeda “sleeper cell” — or possibly a freelance faction inspired by Al Qaeda — that they believe was behind the train bombings that killed 200 people Thursday. The cell seems to be made up largely of Moroccan immigrants who over the past two years took root in a crowded barrio in Madrid despite an intense, nationwide crackdown by Spanish authorities on Islamic militants that has put Spain at the cutting edge of the war on terror in Europe, said Gustavo Aristegui, a member of Spain’s Parliament and one of the country’s top terrorism analysts. One of the three Moroccan immigrants arrested in the bombing case is named in a sweeping indictment of more than 35 alleged Al Qaeda operatives, including Osama bin Laden, which was handed down by Judge Baltasar Garzon of Spain. Full Story
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