Three alleged jihadists arrested in Barcelona
The National Police carried out an operation last Friday in Barcelona that resulted in the arrest of three alleged Jihadists. The operation was organised and directed by the General Information Commissariat and the Audiencia Nacional. The Spanish security forces were alerted by the Algerian police services, who had the three suspects in their sights.
The detainees, two of Libyan origin and a third Moroccan, are said to have taken advantage of the movements that took place at Christmas to enter Barcelona, where they have now been arrested following searches of their homes and the seizure of material that is being analysed. The three people, whose intentions are not yet known, will be taken to court to be sent to prison.
This would be the first anti-terrorist operation this year, and it is taking place again in Catalonia, the community where a third of the operations of the recently ended 2020 took place. With this latest operation, Catalonia would reach fifty antiterrorist operations against Jihadism since 2012, 15 more than those which have taken place in the Community of Madrid, which is in second place. Catalonia, with 118 detainees since 2012, also has more than 75 detainees in Madrid.
However, Madrid is the place where most arrests have taken place, with a total of 38, four more than the city of Barcelona, even counting the three arrests of last Friday. Since 2012 there have been 228 operations against Jihadism in Spain up to 4 January, according to data from the Department of National Security. A total of 408 people have been arrested in these operations, which may take place in several provinces.
Together with the province of Barcelona and the Community of Madrid, the provinces of Girona, Guipúzcoa, Valencia, Alicante and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, where the border with Morocco gives greater mobility to possible Jihadists, are also noteworthy for the number of operations and arrests. Between the two cities the number of detainees amounts to almost 70. Extremadura remains the least affected region, with only one detainee in Mérida.
Catalonia is, moreover, the last place where an attack has taken place in our country. This week sees the start of the final stage of the trial for the 2017 attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, where almost twenty people died, in addition to eight terrorists.
The prosecution is expected to maintain the charges against the three people on trial, Mohamed Houli, Driss Oukabir and Said ben Iazza, the latter accused of collaborating with the members of the cell. Due to the Filomena storm, the oral hearings have been suspended until Wednesday, due to the difficulties of transportation to the Audiencia Nacional due to ice and snow.
