M A I N   N E W S

Seven held in Spain over 26/11 links

Madrid, December 1
Six Pakistanis and a Nigerian suspected of providing forged passports to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and groups linked to Al-Qaida, in particular those behind the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, have been arrested by the Spanish police, the Interior Ministry said today.

Three others - two Pakistanis and a Thai national - were held in Thailand as part of the same Operation Kampai, it said in a statement.

Officers detained the suspects in raids in and around Barcelona late on Tuesday.

The gang stole documents, including passports, which were then sent to Thailand to be forged and then delivered to Al-Qaida-linked "terrorist groups," in particular the Pakistan-based LeT that has been accused of plotting the Mumbai attacks, it said.

The gang also supplied the Sri Lankan separatist group - the LTTE, the statement said.

“In total, seven persons have been arrested in Barcelona, all for belonging to a cell providing documentation for terrorist organisations linked to Al- Qaida," it said.

“The international structure was led by a Pakistani citizen living in Thailand and who has been detained. He directed the cells based in Europe, decided the features of the passports to obtain and, which once they were received in Bangkok, supplied them to different terrorist groups. During the investigation, the police "have detected a number of stolen passports taken from Spain to Thailand, which were stolen almost entirely in the province of Barcelona from tourists who met the requirements stipulated by the 'World Islamic Front' in order to be used by members of different terrorist cells linked to Al-Qaida." — AFP