Spanish police foil possible Galicia separatist bomb plot

Dec 3, 2011, 12:53 GMT

Madrid - Spanish police on Saturday said they had arrested six people who were allegedly planning to bomb a national celebration on Tuesday.

Police said the group, arrested in stages between Wednesday and Friday, possessed six kilograms of explosives that were likely to have been used to launch attacks during celebrations marking Spain's constitution day.

They were charged with unauthorized possession of explosives and of maintaining membership in the Galician Resistance terror group.

Galician Resistance gained authorities' attention in 2005, after it declared in a manifesto its intent to launch armed attacks in order to gain independence for Galicia.

Galicia is an autonomous community located in Spain's northwest. Its 2.79 million residents speak both the Galician and Castilian Spanish languages. Though largely moderate and aligned with pro-Spanish policies, some extreme nationalists call for Galicia to become a state independent from Spain.

Prior bomb attacks presumed to have been the work of Galician Resistance members caused damage to bank branches and party offices, but did not result in loss of life.