Rail bomb ringleader suspected dead
The person believed to be the ringleader of the March 11th Madrid rail bombings is suspected to have killed himself.
Serhane ben Abdelmajid Farkhet, known as “The Tunisian”, was killed in an explosion in an apartment block, according to the Spanish interior minister Angel Acebes.
Mr Farkhet, 35, reportedly blew himself up, along with three or four accomplices, after being cornered by police in the Leganes suburb of Madrid.
Spanish radio has also reported that another person implicated in the terror attacks, Jamal Ahmidan, 33, was amongst the dead.
On March 11th a series of bombs on commuter trains killed 202 people and injured more than 1,700.
The explosion in Leganes also killed one policeman and injured as many as 15 others.
Mr Acebes reported that the suspects started shooting from a window when as they saw police approach the building.
“The special police agents prepared to storm the building and when they started to execute the plan, the terrorists set off a powerful explosion blowing themselves up,” Mr Acebes said.
“There are three that could have blown themselves up, but the possibility of more is not ruled out.”
“The core group of those who carried out the terrorist act (the March 11 train bombings) have been detained or died in the collective suicide,” Mr Acebes said.
So far Spanish police have arrested 15 suspects in connection with the terrorist attacks, 11 of these are Moroccan.
Evidence recovered from Leganes included 200 detonators, similar to those used in the Madrid attacks, and 10kg of dynamite.
“They were going to keep on attacking because some of the explosives were prepared, packed and connected to detonators,” he added.
