CNN -- Police in Spain today arrested 16 suspected members of the Al Qaeda terrorist network thought to be preparing attacks, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said.
Police also seized large amounts of explosive and chemical materials and documents in the raids on 12 apartments in northeastern Spain.
Meanwhile, in Italy, five suspected terrorists were arrested on Wednesday. The men, detained for illegal possession of explosives, are suspected of having links to extremist groups else- where in Europe. Police found maps with NATO bases in northern Italy circled and a plan of central London during the arrests south of Venice.
Both sets of suspects were preparing attacks and had links to other terrorist cells, groups and ongoing investigations across Europe.
Spain:
According to officials, those arrested in Spain were preparing to commit attacks with explosives and chemical materials and had links with other terrorist suspects arrested recently in Britain and France.
There were no immediate details on the possible targets of the alleged attacks. About 150 police officers using dogs took part in the pre-dawn raids on apartments in the northeastern provinces of Barcelona, Gerona and Castellon, Interior Minister Angel Acebes said.
Those detained were mostly Algerian citizens and suspected members of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, an Algerian extremist organization with clear links to Usama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Police also found barrels containing chemicals, timing and remote control devices of the type used in bombs, as well as many documents, including forged passports. The arrests were made at the request of authorities in Britain and France.
Italy:
Italy is now on terror alert after the 5 arrests. Anti-terrorist police found a plastic C4 explosive device inside an abandoned farmhouse on Wednesday where the men lived near the town of Rovigo, about 50 miles southwest of Venice. While searching an apartment, that serves as a Mosque in a neighboring town, agents also found several maps pinpointing NATO bases, local police stations, and foreign embassies in Italy. Concerns have been raised that an impending terrorist attack was being planned and that others could be in the works.