The Spanish government Friday filed a new request to Italy for the extradition of Rabei Osman al-Sayed Ahmed, "the Egyptian", one of the suspected masterminds in the Madrid train bombings on March 11. The government requested a temporary six-month extradition so National Court judge Juan del Olmo could question the suspect. Spain already filed an extradition request for Ahmed after he was captured in Milan in June. The Italian government was expected to confirm the extradition after an appeals court rejected Ahmed's appeal against it on Wednesday. Spain was filing a new type of request to speed up the extradition process, reports said. The new request also sought to provide del Olmo with access to Italian evidence against Ahmed, such as tapes and computer materials. Ahmed is thought to have recruited members for the Madrid terrorist cell while living in Spain. About 20 mostly Moroccan suspects are in jail for Spain's worst terrorist attacks, which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,500 others. ---SP 2025 Local Time 1725 GMT
