When they threw one of the leading lights (AZnar) in the Western world out of office, did they really believe the barbarians were satiated? Cowards.
Spanish police find explosive material in Barcelona sweep
14 arrested linked to Al-QaedaMADRID (AFP) - Spanish police found material for making explosives and bombs in raids Saturday in Barcelona, which also led to the arrests of 14 people in connection with a suspected radical Islamist terror network, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said.
"During our searches, we found various materials which could be explosives or be used to make explosives," Rubalcaba told a press conference in Madrid.
He also said that the network that could be characterised as "radical Islamist" and was "highly organised."
.Private radio station Cadena Ser reported that the suspects were believed to have links to a financial network for certain branches of Al-Qaeda. All the arrests took place in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, home to a large Muslim immigrant population, the radio said.
In May last year (2006) in Barcelona, authorities dismantled a network that was recruiting fighters and funding militant organisations in North Africa and Iraq. Thirteen Moroccans and two Algerians were arrested in that case.
In September of 2005 a suspected al Qaeda cell leader was convicted in a Madrid court in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Prosecutors said Yarkas and Chebli -- considered to be an aide to the alleged cell leader -- provided logistical aid for a crucial meeting in July 2001 near Barcelona between Mohamed Atta and Ramzi Binalshibh.
Barcelona, Barcelona, Barcelona, see a pattern here ?
Spain is still haunted by the Madrid bombings - carried out by Islamists Spanish authorities have arrested 14 people suspected of having links to Islamist terror groups. The Civil Guard detained the suspects in Barcelona as part of a joint operation with Spain's National Intelligence Centre (CNI). (more here)
Several premises were searched and, as the operation is ongoing, more arrests have not been ruled out.
Spain suffered at the hands of Islamist militants in 2004 when 191 people were killed in the Madrid train bombings.
UPDATE: From The Sunday Times
Spain alerts Britain after foiling bomb plot on eve of Musharraf visit
SPANISH police say they have foiled an attempt by Islamic extremists to carry out bomb attacks coinciding with a state visit to Europe by Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan.
It was reported that other European countries, including Britain, had been put on alert by the Spanish for the possibility of terror attacks.
Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, the Spanish interior minister, said that five homes and a mosque in central Barcelona had been raided and a quantity of bomb-making material had been seized, including four detonators. Twelve Pakistanis and two Indians were arrested on Friday.
Rubalcaba said police acted on a tip-off from “another secret service” and discovered that some of those detained were about to purchase explosives.
