The ` ` held '' a 15-year - old boy in his cell and forced him to watch al Qaeda videos . For two years , according to author Fernando Reinares , a key intermediary who had been part of an al Qaeda cell in Spain since the mid-1990s planned the attacks , returning to Spain from Pakistan months before the bombings . He was on a U.S. no - fly - list , according to American officials . He 'd been detained in Afghanistan in 2010 and repatriated to Pakistan .
The ` ` held '' a 15-year - old boy in his cell and forced him to watch al Qaeda videos . He was on a U.S. no - fly - list , according to American officials . He 'd been detained in Afghanistan in 2010 and repatriated to Pakistan .