Belgian 'terror cell' on charges

'Mohammed the Egyptian' is alleged to have plotted the Madrid bombs

Belgian prosecutors have filed charges of preparing terrorist attacks against four suspected Islamic extremists.

But they played down suggestions the men may have been plotting an attack on Nato HQ in Belgium - one source said the target may have been France.

Spanish investigators are seeking to question a suspected key plotter in the Madrid bombings arrested in Italy.

And in Spain, police have arrested six people over the sale of the explosives used in the 11 March attacks.

Spanish prosecutors have asked the magistrate investigating the Madrid atrocity to request permission to question Rabei Osman Ahmed, known as "Mohammed the Egyptian".

It seems there was a second cell which was ready to take action on French territory Italian judicial source

He was arrested, along with an alleged colleague, in Milan on Monday night.

Spanish and Italian newspapers published the transcript of a phone call apparently made days before the arrest, in which he is said to have told his room-mate: "The Madrid attack was my plan and those who died as martyrs are my very dear friends."

Spain is expected to request Mr Ahmed's extradition on multiple counts of murder.

Following information from the arrests, Belgian police arrested 15 foreigners.

They were said to include Palestinians, Jordanians, Moroccans and Egyptians.

Plot unconfirmed

Four have been placed under formal arrest and face potential charges, four more will be deported, and seven were released, according to the Belgian federal prosecutors' office.

A spokeswoman refused to confirm reports of a plot to attack Nato, which is based in Brussels.

"The elements in the case do not allow us to say with certainty, yes or no," she said.

The Reuters news agency quoted an Italian judicial source saying the Italian-Belgian cells may have been focusing on a target in France.

"In the most likely event, the cell disbanded yesterday was ready to leave Brussels for Iraq to carry out suicide attacks," the source said.

"Reading the transcripts of the taped calls included in the investigation, it seems there was a second cell which was ready to take action on French territory."

Mine manager arrested

In Spain, six people have been arrested in connection with the sale of the explosives used in the Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people.

Spanish investigators say the Goma 2 Eco explosives were stolen from a mine in the Asturias region, and then sold to Islamic extremists.

A former miner, Jose Emilio Suarez, has already been detained over the theft.

Those newly arrested - all thought to be Spanish citizens - include Mr Suarez's wife and brother-in-law, as well as the manager of the mine, according to the AFP agency.