Terror arrests: Spain not sure attack was imminent

The Spanish Government expressed doubt on Friday about how close an alleged Islamic cell may have been to staging suicide attacks, questioning the assertion of a judge who said such bombings had been imminent and jailed 10 suspects, including an Indian. Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said police who staged raids last Saturday in Barcelona and made the arrests did not find enough explosives “to infer an attack was imminent” and that the raids were prompted only by a tip-off from an informant.

Judge Ismael Moreno of the National Court ordered the detainees, nine Pakistanis and an Indian, jailed on Wednesday night pending further investigation.

Moreno said the group had only a small amount of bomb-making material that was not enough for a major attack. Still, he said three members of the cell had planned suicide bombings against Barcelona’s public transport network to take place on the weekend they were arrested.