Spanish authorities have apprehended seven individuals, including four suspected “jihadist influencers,” for alleged connections to Islamist terrorism.
As reported by the media, the suspects were arrested in Madrid, as well as in the city of Toledo. Moreover, authorities also arrested an individual in the northwest city of Pontevedra, which is near the Portuguese border. One was a minor of the three people detained in Toledo, and another was indicted of having “significant influence and accessibility… to disseminate jihadist ideology”.
Also, the arrested in Pontevedra and Madrid are accused of being involved in disseminating radical posts on social media. According to reports, they are blamed for obscuring their radicalism behind videotapes regarding physical training and self-defense while including taglines with a “strong indoctrination power” utilizing ISIS content.
How has Spain responded to terrorism over the years?
Over the last two decades, Spain has been aggressively confronting terrorism with efforts towards both Islamist and separatist threats. The first Islamist terrorist groups were seen in Spain in 1994. Cells and networks were further identified to be associated with al-Qaeda and also other groups like the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA).
In March 2004, bombs detonated in commuter trains across Madrid, which led to the killing of 192 people. The perpetrators of the attack were known to be linked to al-Qaeda and another related Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group. After the bombings, arrests that linked up to jihadists increased. Between 2004 and 2012, an average of 52 arrests were made yearly, with an approximate total of 470 a year. Since then, Spain has continued to arrest hundreds more suspects.
More recently, a terrorist drove their auto into a terrace in Murcia, slaying one in October 2021. The assailant, Abdellah Gmara, killed an individual sitting with his with in Torre Pacheco.
At the time of the 2004 terrorist episodes, Spain was also confronted with the threat posed by ETA, the separatist group known as the Basque separatist organization that withdrew in 2011 and dissolved seven years later. Throughout the operational period of this organization, ETA focused its attacks not only on military personnel but also on civilians, such as journalists. In December 2023, four ex-ETA members were sentenced for trying to murder journalists over two decades ago.
The disbanding of ETA allowed the Spanish security authorities to concentrate their focus on Islamic radicalism. Spain security forces have apprehended around 1,047 suspects in 408 operations since the train bombings, official figures indicated.
