A suspected jihadist network based in Spain was smashed this Tuesday, November 7, after an operation initiated by the General Information Commissioner’s Office.
As confirmed to larazon.es by police sources, a total of 14 individuals were arrested in several Spanish provinces. All of the detainees were of Pakistani origin and are said to have lived in Catalonia, Valencia, Guipúzcoa, Vitoria, Logroño and Lleida.
Those arrested will reportedly appear before a court tomorrow, Wednesday 8. In the absence of official information, it is believed that these individuals formed a network in which jihadist messages and a high degree of radicalisation were transmitted online.
Following the Hamas attacks on Israel a month ago, the anti-terrorist alert level in Spain was heightened, resulting in the Security Forces redoubling surveillance on suspects in order to avoid possible attacks.
Similar arrests of suspected jihadists were made in October
Today’s arrests come after a similar anti-terror operation carried out by the national Police last month snared four suspected jihadists.
The arrests took place in the Granada municipality of Huetor-Tajar, Cubelles in Barcelona, and Madrid, with the four detained for ‘proselytism and jihadist recruitment’.
A man nicknamed the ‘Caliph’ was among those arrested. According to the authorities, he was the: ‘creator and administrator of several groups in which he tried to indoctrinate young people in the jihadist creed’.
Two of those detained in the operation were a married couple who had apparently been brought together after joining one of these online social media groups. The fourth was said to have been an ‘indoctrinated’ individual.