National
Six potential suicide bombers were amongst those arrested in Barcelona, says Attorney General
By m.p.
Jan 24, 2008 - 10:55 PM

Spain’s Attorney General says there is sufficient proof to show that six of the 14 suspected Islamic terrorists arrested in Barcelona last weekend planned to carry out suicide attacks on the city’s public transport system. Ismael Moreno, the National Court judge who questioned the group and remanded ten of them to prison, said three were suspected suicide bombers on Wednesday.

Cándido Conde-Pumpido mentioned evidence provided by the police and also noted information from a protected witness. He added that two others were explosives experts, and the remaining two of the group of ten were the ideological leaders. Two of the original 14 were released by police, and the others by the Judge himself on Wednesday.

The National Police and Civil Guard chief, Joan Mesquida, told TVE Spanish Television that security forces will be carrying out a number of preventive measures to stop any Islamic terrorists which may not yet have the resources from going any further with their plans . He said he didn’t expect a great quantity of explosives to be seized, just as there hadn’t been last weekend, but ‘we cannot risk that they could be successful at some point in the future,’ he said.

The Interior Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, meanwhile commented from Cádiz that he believes the cell was still in training, but would soon, as experience shows, he said, ‘go from having explosives to using them.’

The Attorney General, Cándido Conde-Pumpido. Photo – EFE Archives.