MADRID —
Authorities in Spain released a video Saturday that they claim shows suspected al-Qaida members training for a bombing raid using a model plane, the latest development in a case that has led to three arrests.
Spanish officials allege the suspects were planning a terrorist attack in Spain or elsewhere in Europe, but say investigators managed to intercept them before they could carry out their plot.
The undated video clip — grainy and of low quality — shows a colorful model propeller plane noisily taking off. Once airborne, it drops a small object that falls to the ground and a man then runs toward where the object landed. The identity of the man is not clear from the clip.
Two of the arrested suspects are Russians of Chechen descent — Eldar Magomedov and Mohamed Ankari Adamov. They were jailed Sunday on provisional charges of belonging to a terrorist organization.
The third man, a Turk named Cengiz Yalcin, was also jailed on provisional charges of possession of explosives and a device likely to be used in a terror attack.
Spain’s Interior Ministry also released photographs of an underground space uncovered by police at Yalcin’s home in the southwestern city of La Linea where investigators discovered around 150 grams (5.3 ounces) of an allegedly explosive substance.
Judge Pablos Ruz of the National Court, who jailed the three suspects, described Yalcin as an engineer who had worked in Gibraltar for years and had been involved in providing paragliding lessons for the Russians.
Ruz also said in a court statement that evidence from the U.S. Justice Department suggested Magomedov was involved in terrorist activity in 2010 in Afghanistan and Waziristan, a lawless tribal territory in Pakistan known as a militant hotspot.
It was not clear Saturday if the three suspects had yet been able to appoint defense attorneys.
The ministry has declined comment on whether investigators believe Magomedov and Adamov were practicing paragliding in the hope of unleashing some form of aerial attack.
While a paragliding device designed for a pilot and a passenger might be able to take off with as much as 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of explosives, a model aircraft’s payload would clearly be much smaller.
National, International News
Spain: Model plane video evidence of terror plot
- National, International News
-
-
Wave of attacks kills at least 95 in Iraq
A wave of attacks killed at least 95 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq on Monday, officials said, pushing the death toll over the past week to more than 240 and extending one of the most sustained bouts of sectarian violence the country has seen in years.
-
Arias attorneys will put one witness on: Arias
Complaining that Jodi Arias’ sensational murder case has become a modern-day “witch trial,” her lawyers tried to quit in the middle of the death-penalty phase Monday, then said they will call only one witness: Arias.
-
Oklahoma twister tracked path of 1999 tornado
Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.
-
Dozens killed as tornado ravages Oklahoma City area
A powerful late-afternoon tornado leveled much of this Oklahoma community Monday, killing at least 51 people. Reporters on helicopters flying above the scene described the scene as “devastating.”
-
Today in History for Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Today is Tuesday, May 21, the 141st day of 2013. There are 224 days left in the year.
-
Several Republicans weigh challenge to Barrow
Now that Rep. John Barrow has turned down a campaign for the U.S. Senate, the challenge ahead for the Deep South’s last white Democratic congressman will be to defy the odds a second time by winning re-election in an eastern Georgia district that was drawn to ensure his defeat.
-
‘Trek’ does $70.6M but falls short of studio hopes
“Star Trek: Into Darkness” has warped its way to a $70.6 million domestic launch from Friday to Sunday, though it’s not setting any light-speed records with a debut that’s lower than the studio’s expectations.
-
Syrian troops push into strategic rebel-held town
Syrian troops pushed into a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border on Sunday, fighting house-to-house and bombing from the air as President Bashar Assad tried to strengthen his grip on a strategic strip of land running from the capital to the Mediterranean coast.
-
Taylor Swift wins 8 trophies at Billboard Awards
Another day, another domination for Taylor Swift: She was the red hot winner at the Billboard Music Awards.
-
Tornadoes level homes in Okla., 21 injured
One of several tornadoes that touched down Sunday in Oklahoma turned homes in a trailer park near Oklahoma City into splinters and rubble and sent frightened residents along a 100-mile corridor scurrying for shelter.
- More National, International News Headlines
-
