Al Qaida cell busted

Barcelona

Spanish police swooped down on a suspected al Qaida cell in pre-dawn raids across northeastern Spain this week. Police arrested 16 people and confiscated explosives, bomb components, chemical-warfare manuals, and suspected toxins. Most of the suspects were Algerians who had trained at Osama bin Laden’s camps in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said the men had communicated with the Algerians who were arrested recently in Britain in possession of the deadly poison ricin. Some European intelligence experts believe al Qaida may be trying to regroup in Algeria.