Suspected militants held in Spain

Police in Barcelona arrested a number of suspected Islamic militants today in a series of pre-dawn raids.

Police sources said at least 10 people were arrested and most of them were of Pakistani origin.

Although the police spokesman refused to say how many suspects were detained, he did say that all those picked up were suspected of belonging to a militant Islamic network.

However, he refused to say if any of the suspects arrested were linked to the March 11 train bombings in Madrid. Those attacks killed 191 people and were blamed on Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida.

Spanish National Radio said the operation was ordered by Judge Ismael Moreno of Spain’s National Court, which handles terrorism cases.

The radio report said police found no weapons or explosives in Wednesday’s raids on homes in Barcelona. But authorities did seize documents, which are being examined.