MADRID SUSPECTS DIE IN BLAST

At least three Moroccans suspected of being involved in the March 11th train bombs and one Special Operations Group (GEO) agent were killed by an explosion in a flat late Saturday night in the quiet residential area of Leganes, south of Madrid. Another 11 GEO agents were hurt, some of them seriously and the authorities say the death toll could rise. Interior Minister Angel Acebes said the suspects set off the bomb when the special agents closed in on the apartment building. "When the special agents started to execute the plan to storm the building, the terrorists set off a powerful explosion, blowing themselves up," the minister said. Apparently when the men spotted the police closing in from a window they started to shoot while they chanted in Arabic. Sr Acebes did not rule out the possibility that there had been more than three men in the flat and that a fourth person may have escaped before the police cordoned off the area. Police had evacuated residents in the building and the surrounding area before moving in but at least 20 families were put up at a hotel because they could not return to their damaged homes. The operation started about 6 pm and Mr Acebes began to make his televised statements around 10 pm. The Spanish authorities have already detained and charged 15 people with being involved in the March 11th attack. Eleven of those held are Moroccans and the men who were killed Saturday are believed to be three of six men - five Moroccans and a Tunisian - who also have warrants out for their arrest. Local residents are still in a state of shock, many of them finding it hard to believe that their neighbourhood could harbour terrorists. But as one resident said: "This is a very quiet neighbourhood but it's places like this where these people try to hide." The neighbours said a group of North Africans had moved into the flat about a month ago. The blinds were always drawn and the occupants were rarely seen.