Friday 3 August 2012

Al-Qaeda suspects 'planned a massacre'

Suspects, from l., AAA and MA,
of Russian origin, and CY, a Turk 
LA LÍNEA (Agencies) The three men arrested on suspicion of belonging to an Al Qaeda cell, and who had a cache of explosives hidden in a flat in the Mirasierra section of town, were planning a major attack, though it has not yet been confirmed exactly where.  This information may come from the computers that were confiscated in the search of the flat carried out yesterday. According the Ministry of the Interior, there was enough explosive to 'blow up a bus', though an explosion would have been a great deal more dangerous if shrapnel had been added to it. The three are being questioned by the courts this morning. Given their proximity to Gibraltar,>>>
there has been speculation that an attack on the Rock might have been planned. One of the men, a Turkish national arrested in La Línea (the other two were arrested in Ciudad Real), was married to a Moroccan woman and may have crossed the border daily. Spanish media report that he worked in Gibraltar, though the Royal Gibraltar Police say that there was "no intelligence report or information of any threat to Gibraltar" and they are liaising closely with the Spanish National Police in further investigation. One of the men is described as a key member of the terror network, according to the Ministry spokesperson; another is allegedly an expert in explosives and poisonous substances; and two of them practiced flying in light aircraft.

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