Spanish police believe a top al-Qaeda operative in Europe put two key suspects in the Madrid bombings in contact with one another, a newspaper reported Friday.
Serhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet of Tunisia, the alleged coordinator of the attacks, is believed to have met with suspected al-Qaeda operative Amer Azizi in Turkey in late 2002 or early 2003 to ask for fighters for an attack in Madrid, the daily El Mundo said.
Azizi, a Moroccan who remains at large, was indicted on terrorism charges last September as part of a probe into an al-Qaeda cell accused of helping prepare the Sept. 11 attacks on the US.
Azizi apparently told Fakhet he could not supply men but urged him to contact Moroccan compatriot Jamal Zougam in Madrid, the paper said.
Zougam is one of six people charged with mass murder in the Madrid attacks, which killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800 others.
Fakhet was one of up to seven suspected terrorists who blew themselves up April 3 when their apartment south of Madrid was about to be stormed by police.
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