Spanish police have arrested three Moroccan men on suspicion of providing arms and financing for the Madrid train bombing attacks that killed 191 people.
The three men, ranging in age from 20 to 32, are suspected of belonging to an armed group, drug-trafficking and possession of arms and explosives, police said. Two were arrested in Madrid and one in Granada yesterday.
Investigators have said Islamist militants recruited criminals and used money raised from selling hashish and ecstasy to fund the bombings, which cost an estimated €41,000.
The attacks aboard four packed commuter trains on March 11th, 2004, killed 191 people and wounded some 1,900 three days before a general election.
Police have implicated more than 100 people in the case, most of them Moroccan. The judge leading the investigation has remanded 25 in custody and ordered some 20 others to make regular appearances before the court.
El Mundonewspaper reported the most recently arrested suspects are believed to have provided two submachine guns and a pistol displayed in a video claiming responsibility for the attacks that was released on the eve of the election.
The video of three masked men claimed the attacks in the name of al-Qaeda and called them revenge for Spain sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.