Urgent Manhunt Across Europe for Terror Plotters

ABC News has learned that the manhunt that began in Spain for suspected terror cell members has now extended to France and other European Union countries.

Spanish police move suspected terrorist detainees 19 January 2008 in Barcelona. Police have smashed...

Spanish police move suspected terrorist detainees 19 January 2008 in Barcelona. Police have smashed a suspected Islamist terror cell, arresting 14 people and recovering bomb-making equipment in overnight raids in Barcelona, the interior minister said 19 January 2008. Those arrested included 12 Pakistanis and two Indians, he said. Four timing devices as well as computer equipment which was still being examined were also recovered. AFP PHOTO / JOSEP LAGO (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)

(Getty Images )
More Photos

The attorney general in Spain said today that there are three cell members they are urgently searching for and that the missing members could be suicidal terrorists with a mission to attack somewhere outside of Spain.

Investigative sources tell ABC News the cell members are Spanish residents, including both nationals and foreigners. They are believed to have recently traveled to Spain from Waziristan, Pakistan, an area known as a hotbed for al Qaeda training and Taliban resurgence.

The 14 suspected terrorists arrested last weekend in Spain were in the final stages of preparing a suicide attack using multiple bombs, according to sources close to the investigation being conducted by Spanish Central Intelligence (CNI) and the Guardia Civil Islamic Counterterrorist Unit.

The men were of Pakistani, Indian and other ethnic backgrounds. Many appear to be legal residents of Spain, but some of the suspects' legal statuses are still unknown. One of the men arrested, Maroof Ahmaed Mirza, is described as an Imam, a legal resident of Spain and a Pakistani national.

The raids capped what was known as Operation Cantata and took place in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona after authorities established the readiness of the group based on intercepts and informant information, sources told ABCNews.com.

Seven searches were conducted, including searches of two mosques, according to police reports. Investigators seized four timers, described as "mechanical clocks without numbered spheres," various empty pyrotechnic cartridges, multi-colored wires, latex gloves, kitchen gloves, severe batteries of varying voltages, cables used for detonators and other various materials, according to an inventory of the searches.