Five suspected Islamic extremists arrested in Spain are allegedly part of the al-Qaeda terror group's financial network, the interior minister said this afternoon.
Mr Angel Acebes, speaking in the northern city of Santander, also said the five may have been involved in the synagogue bombing on the Tunisian resort island of Djerba last April, which killed 19 people.
The detainees, arrested yesterday, are four Spaniards and one Pakistani: Maria Dolores Cerda Ibanez; Enrique Cerda Ibanez; Federico Tarazona Tarazona; Francisco Palop Monje; and Ahmed Ruksar.
The interior ministry said police investigations point to the existence of a money laundering network of individuals and businesses in Spain that channel profits to Osama bin Laden's terror network.
The money, distributed through ordinary bank accounts, helps buy materials and finance hide-outs for al-Qaeda members, the ministry said in a statement.
Spanish police, in collaboration with French and German police, arrested four of the suspects in Valencia and the fifth in the northern city of Logrono, Acebes said.
Spain's National Court ordered the raids in response to a request from a French judge investigating the Dherba bombing, which killed 14 Germans and two French.
AP