Madrid, 6 March (AKI) - Nine suspects in the deadly 11 March Madrid train bombings will be detained beyond the almost two years they have already spent in custody, investigating magistrate Juan del Olmo announced on Monday. The move will enable del Olmo to complete his indictments in connection with the bombings, the first of which he says he will file by 10 April. The blasts killed 191 people and injured 1,500 and were claimed by Islamic militants who said they acted on behalf of al-Qaeda in revenge for the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq .
The nine suspects are Jamal Zougam, Jose Emilio Suarez Trashorras, Rafa Zouhier, Basel Ghalyoun, Hamid Ahmidam, Otman el Gnaoui, Rachid Aglif, Abdelilah el Fadual el Akil and Fouad el Morabi, del Olmo said, quoted by EFE news agency. They were among the first of a total 116 suspects in the case, many of them Moroccans.
Zougam is seen as one of the key suspects; he was recognised by numerous witnesses and may have taken part in the attacks, organising people to place the mobile phone detonated rucksack bombs on the four commmuter trains, according to the daily El Mundo. Tashorras, one of the few Spanish-born suspects, is alleged to have helped other suspects obtain stolen explosives for the attacks from a mine in Asturia, northern Spain. Moroccan-born Zouhier is also suspected of involvement in stealing the explosives.
Perhaps 30-40 suspects may be indicted, according to unnamed court sources. The indictments are expected to reveal more information about the attacks - such as the possible identity of the bombing mastermind. Out of the total 116 suspects, 24 are currently detained in Spanish prisons and one Egyptian, Rabei Osman, is being held in jail in the northern Italian city of Milan.
Del Olmo had previously said he hoped to have the indictments ready by the second anniversary of the bombings this Saturday. More than 80 people have been questioned by investigators, 200 DNA tests have been carried out, and more than 50,000 phone-conversations tapped in the course of an investigation that has so far run to thousands of pages. Del Olmo and the National Court have been warned that unless the investigation is stepped up, some defendants might have to be released from custody before any trial ends. Spanish law permits up to two years of pre-trial prison, which can be extended to four after preliminary hearings. Last week, del Omo held separate hearings for the nine suspects whose detention he has announced he is extending beyond two years.
Seven key bombing suspects are dead. They blew themselves up three weeks after the Madrid bombings, as police closed in on their hideout in a southern Madrid suburb. A police special operations officer was killed and 18 police officers were injured in the blast. 
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