Judge in Spain to question terror suspects

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The case has been called one of Spain's largest operations against al Qaeda


• One suspect is Turkish, and the two others are thought to be of Russian-Chechen origin


• The questioning is taking place at Spain's National Court


• Police sources say the men had gathered enough explosives to "blow up a bus"

(CNN) -- A judge at the Spanish National Court will take statements Friday from three suspected terrorists who may have been plotting attacks on British and U.S. targets, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said Friday.

Two of the men were arrested Wednesday and the third Thursday. The case has been called one of Spain's largest operations against al Qaeda, Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said.

Ceceilia Rivera, the spokeswoman, said Pablo Ruiz is the judge. When asked to elaborate on what the judge will do, she said a judge or a tribunal has the right to ask a defendant or witness about the events they have witnessed or the acts they are accused of committing.

The Interior Ministry said the men were "ready to act in Spain and Europe." One of the men is Turkish, and the other two are believed to be of Russian-Chechen origin. Police sources said they had gathered enough explosives to "blow up a bus."

Rivera released the initials of the three suspects. The Turkish national is identified as C.Y., and the others are A.A.A. and M.A.

The two men arrested Wednesday were on a bus traveling to France when police detained them, and Diaz said they "resisted fiercely." Police sources said they were stopped in Almuradiel, a town about midway between Madrid and the country's southern coast.

The third was held in the province of Cadiz on Spain's southern coast.

The investigation is in its early stages, but Spanish security services say the men were most likely plotting to attack the joint U.S.-Spanish naval base at Rota or British interests in Gibraltar, according to Fernando Reinares, a senior international terrorism analyst at The Elcano Royal Institute in Madrid who was briefed by Spanish security services on the investigation.

Source & Image : CNN World