Five Moroccan men suspected of planning a terror attack on London are due to appear before an Italian court today.
They were detained after officers found a kilogramme of explosives and several maps in a building where the men were staying in the Rovigo, near Venice.
Reports said the maps included plans of Padua's Basilica del Santo, the Nato base in Verona and London.
Police said they found the explosives during a routine search for illegal immigrants in an abandoned building where the men were squatting.
A religious leader of Rovigo's Muslim community was among those arrested.
All five men have been charged with possessing explosives, Ms Sofia Tiengo, a lawyer for two of the suspects, said. She said her clients denied the allegations.
In Spain, police have arrested at least ten suspected al-Qaeda members in raids across the northeast of the country.
A dozen apartments were raided in Barcelona and Gerona, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
PA