Suspect had NY station plan

2005-03-02 19:15

Madrid - Police who searched the home of a suspect in the Madrid train bombings found information about New York's Grand Central, Spanish and US officials said on Wednesday.

The newspaper El Mundo said a manual sketch of the station and technical data about it were found on a computer disk seized about two weeks after last year's March 11 train bombings in Madrid which killed 191 people.

Spanish police turned the disk over to the FBI and CIA in December when they understood the scope of the technical data, the newspaper said.

In New York, mayor Michael Bloomberg said the FBI had informed the police department about the existence of the data on the computer, and the city had responded by tightening security at transit centres.

"We've known about the data on the computer for a long time," said Bloomberg, interviewed on WBLS Radio.

"We've taken the appropriate steps ... to beef up security at all of the major transportation hubs - train stations and airports and bus stations, places where you say if a terrorist wanted to attack, they would," said Bloomberg.

A Spanish police official speaking on condition of anonymity said Spanish and US authorities did not believe the sketch was very credible, saying it was not clear that it was a picture of Grand Central terminal.

The police official confirmed the sketch was found in the home of Mouhannad Almallah, a Syrian who was arrested in Madrid on March 24 but later released, although he is still considered a suspect.

Almallah was questioned over his alleged ties to two suspects who are in jail over the Madrid train attacks after witnesses placed them aboard trains targeted in the string of 10 bombs, El Mundo said.

A total of 24 people are in jail over the attack, although at least 40 more who were arrested and released are still considered suspects.

- AP