A Moroccan man arrested in Spain in connection with the Madrid train bombings is now the subject of a separate inquiry by German prosecutors probing his brief stay in the country, officials said on Friday.
Federal prosecutors said they were investigating the 28-year-old on suspicion of belonging to a foreign terrorist organisation and other crimes, but made clear they had no indication that the Madrid bombings had been planned in Germany.
The Moroccan was one of five more people arrested in Spain in recent days, bringing the total number of suspects in custody to 18.
The man had registered in the western German city of Darmstadt since October 2003, although appeared to have stayed only a few days in the country, prosecutors said. German police searched an apartment in Darmstadt on Thursday evening after it emerged that a suspect in the Madrid bombings had lived there. They refused to give details of the raid.
Despite feverish speculation in German media, prosecutors said it was premature to jump to the conclusion that the bombings, which killed 190 people, may have partly been planned in Germany.