Detenidos dos yihadistas acusados de captar presos para Daesh en la cárcel de Algeciras

The Civil Guard Intelligence Service has broken up a new alleged jihadist recruitment plot operating in Spanish prisons. As part of the operation, two people suspected of integrating a network of recruitment and indoctrination of Islamist radicals operating in the prison of Algeciras in Spain were arrested. One of them in Cordoba and the other in the Gipuzkoan town of Pasajes.

Research began after the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions became aware of Daesh-related graffiti and slogans in the Botafuegos prison in Algeciras in early 2018. Both detainees were serving sentences for Jihadist terrorism offences there at the time. 

According to the investigations carried out by the Civil Guard Information Service, it was revealed that one of the detainees plays "a role of ascendancy over the rest of the inmates, carrying out indoctrination work on them", as reported by the Armed Institute.

As reported by the La Vanguardia newspaper, his recruitment and indoctrination activities in prison were similar to those he was previously convicted of - for which he is serving six years in prison. In this work, he is said to have recruited another detainee who was serving a sentence for a crime of terrorist self-indoctrination. He also recruited in prison inmates with whom he was in contact.

Thanks to the investigation, an alleged structure dedicated to indoctrination in the theses defended by the Daesh terrorist organisation was uncovered in prisons. In the course of the Civil Guard's operation, the judicial authority has ordered preventive custody for the detainee, who was at liberty.

According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, the suspect, who was on probation, apparently wanted to attack tourist interests in Morocco. In principle, according to the Spanish newspaper, there is no structured organisation among imprisoned jihadists, but there are processes of radicalisation of jihadists, a tactic used to recruit followers for terrorist organisations such as Daesh.

The information service of the Civil Guard has thus dismantled the second plot of jihadi recruitment that acted within prisons in less than a month. 

In this way, the two main people involved in the plot in Algeciras prison were arrested last Saturday. The first of them, Kamal Mohamed Driss, Spanish, resident of Melilla and of Rifian origin, was arrested in the Penitentiary Centre of Cordoba. His role was relevant because he influenced the rest of his companions. He was serving a six-year sentence after being imprisoned in 2014 for being a member of a cell for recruiting Al-Qaeda fighters, in which he acted as ideologist. He was due to be released from prison in May, although he was to be monitored with a bracelet. The second of the detainees is a Moroccan from Tangiers, Mohamed Akaarir, on probation and also wearing a bracelet to control his movements. He was arrested in the town of Pasajes in Gipuzkoa after crossing the border. He had previously been imprisoned for glorifying terrorism.

In fact, in the course of the investigation, it was established that his profile was dangerous. "His idea was to attack tourist interests in Morocco, and to this end he had already begun to search for information on areas of maximum public affluence, as well as how to obtain assault rifles. There were no definite plans, nor specific targets, but the Civil Guard already had information that they had discussed attacks against tourists in prison", as different sources explained to the ABC newspaper.

Ironically, this man was the first jihadist to be sentenced by the National Court for self-indoctrination. He could not be expelled from Spain because of the pandemic and could only move around Guipúzcoa and neighbouring towns in southern France.  

Morocco could therefore have been among the targets of this alleged terrorist network. The Moroccan kingdom is engaged in an intense fight against jihadist terrorism and its security forces are always on the alert to put an end to this type of group. 

In fact, Morocco's Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) recently conducted an operation with the CIA to arrest four extremists in Oujda, northwest Morocco. Four people between 24 and 28 were arrested in different neighbourhoods of the city. "This operation is part of the follow-up to efforts to neutralise the dangers of the terrorist threat and dismantle extremist organisations aimed at seriously undermining public order, security and stability in the Kingdom," the North African country's Central Office said in a press release referring to the operation. 

According to Moroccan investigations, the detainees had declared their "allegiance" to Daesh and planned to join the terrorist group in the Sahel region. There they would be trained in camps to carry out terrorist attacks. 

The presence of terrorist groups is increasing in the Sahel region. Countries such as Mali and Niger have been hit hard by jihadist attacks in which hundreds of people have been killed. If extremists used to join Daesh in the Middle East region, they are now moving to the Sahel. According to Habboub Cherkaoui, BCIJ director, 1,654 Moroccans joined Daesh since 2014. "Of these 1,654, 270 have returned to Morocco and have war experience".

For his part, Nasser Bourita, Morocco's foreign minister, spoke of the need to strengthen regional capacities to confront the new threats posed by Daesh. "The response to emerging threats from Daesh must prioritise support for African states and organisations in order to ensure more lasting results" in the fight against this terrorist group, Bourita told the Moroccan news agency MAP. He also called for better coordination of international initiatives to deal with a scenario that is "evolving on the ground", highlighting the "great potential" of joining forces with the Sahel Coalition in support of the G5-Sahel.