Sneaking covertly towards Spain: Fears in Madrid of possible ISIS attacks

Nahla Abdel Moneim

Islamists still represent a thorny file facing the European Union countries, including security and legal problems that undermine dealing with the file and finding solutions to potential violence on their part, in addition to the difference in the political will of states towards the decision to return militants who fought among the ranks of armed organizations in Syria and Iraq.

Spain is one of the countries that suffered from extremist attacks during the height of ISIS activity in Europe between 2015 and 2016, and it also has troubles in its security apparatus with returnees and extremists after campaigns that revealed those involved in supporting extremist organizations in the Middle East among its citizens.

Returnees carry risk

A report by Europol on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, revealed that the agency supported the Spanish authorities with information that facilitated the arrest of an operative who had secretly returned from fighting with ISIS to the country.

With the help of Europol, the security services in Spain were able to arrest the suspect on December 24, 2020, in a dilapidated house in Barcelona, ​​in the northeast of the country, with two people living in the same place. They had been keen that the authorities did not know their hiding location, which raises Madrid’s fears about possible attacks being planned secretly.

The extremist returning from conflict zones in Syria and Iraq was an active member of ISIS for a long time, according to Europol information. He not only settled in those areas of the Middle East as the only hotbeds of terrorism, but also traveled to Turkey and Senegal. Immediately before entering Spain and being accordingly arrested, he was residing in Algeria and established relations with the North African branch of ISIS.

Also, according to a report published by the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, the three suspects, who are of Algerian nationality, have been referred to trial. One of them is named 28-year-old Marwan. He joined ISIS in Syria in 2016, went to Turkey in 2018, and from there to Senegal. He then joined al-Qaeda in Morocco. After his return to Algeria, he joined ISIS again. As for the second suspect, he is 22 years old, but the agencies did not disclose any more information about his identity.

Problems facing Europe

The recently discovered cell sheds light on some of the problems related to combating terrorism in Europe, most notably the entanglement and plurality in the geographical points used to carry out operations; for example, the Tunisian extremist who infiltrated Europe and carried out the famous Nice attack.

On October 29, 2020, a 21-year-old Tunisian named Brahim Aouissaoui carried out a knife attack against a church in the French city of Nice, killing three people. He had secretly infiltrated through Italy in order to carry out the attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron commented on the recent infiltrations of extremists, calling for a review of the freedom of movement measures between the Schengen countries because they are used as a gateway to facilitate transit between countries and the implementation of terrorist attacks.

The entry of ISIS elements to carry out attacks inside Spain through connected groups of elements means that there is communication between extremists and between the leaders of the organization and the preachers who promote its ideas, which puts broader challenges on security departments in Europe in light of the intellectual polarization existing among state politicians regarding freedom of expression and respect for religious sanctities.

Numbers about return

In March 2019, a report by the El Pais website published a statement by former Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido that at least 237 citizens left the country to join extremist organizations in Syria and Iraq, about 130 of whom are still in conflict areas, while the rest are either returnees or unknowns.

The main concerns of the authorities regarding the returnees relate to them receiving training on carrying weapons and making explosives, and the possibility of teaching this to others if they are integrated into society. Therefore, the state authorities partner with security agencies in Europe such as Europol to identify a database on European militants who joined ISIS to determine their danger.