Those arrested for jihadism in Spain increased their activity after the escalation between Israel and Hamas

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This week, the National Police arrested four young people accused of jihadist indoctrination and recruitment in Barcelona, Madrid and Granada.. Two of them were a couple and another was the leader and they called him the Caliph.. Sources in the anti-terrorist fight inform El Confidencial that they carried out the operation – named Lobobasa – after detecting an increase in their activity as a result of the escalation of violence in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.. The group had a recently edited video in which the couple called for “shedding blood” in Spain to recover Al Andalus..

Regarding the profile of those arrested, there are three Spaniards and one born in Morocco, but with roots in Spain for years.. They were all in good condition.. Three of them are in their twenties and the fourth is barely 30 years old.. Only one of those arrested had a stable job in a department store. Their relationship arose through the Telegram channels in which radical Islamists share content and which was managed by the Caliph.. In fact, the couple met on one of these channels and got married after receiving the approval of this leader of the group, according to the same sources..

The experts from the General Information Commissariat of the National Police followed his movements since last year. Due to their radicalism, they had accentuated their relationship in more restricted forums to which those who show greater determination have access.. Asked if there were signs that they were going to take action, the sources consulted by El Confidencial cite the video in which they called for bloodshed made “weeks ago”, although they have not yet detected any specific or elaborate plan.. The rise of violence in the conflict between Israel and Palestine had caused an increase in the consumption and dissemination of messages.

The arrests have been made in Huetor-Tajar (Granada), Cubelles (Barcelona) and Madrid. They are accused of self-indoctrination with terrorist purposes, indoctrination of third parties and glorification of terrorism.. The work has been coordinated by the Central Court of Instruction number 5 of the National Court with the support of Europol. This Friday, the judge of the National Court, Santiago Pedraz, has agreed to send three detainees to prison—the one from Granada and the couple from Barcelona—for the alleged crimes of terrorist exaltation and indoctrination.. The detainee in Madrid has been released.

This operation occurred in the same week in which the Ministry of the Interior has decreed a reinforcement of security measures within the framework of Level 4 of Anti-terrorist Alert, which means high risk of suffering an attack.. This movement has occurred by virtue of the information handled by the intelligence services and after several deadly terrorist attacks in Europe.. Weeks ago, an Islamist murdered a teacher in northern France. This week, another jihadist terrorist killed two Swedish tourists in Brussels who came to watch their national team's match against Belgium..

🚩Operation against #jihadist terrorism

4 arrested for proselytism and #jihadist recruitment on #SocialNetworks in #Granada #Barcelona and #Madrid

The leader of the group massively consumed violent content and used #RRSS to recruit and indoctrinate other people pic.twitter.com/K637hEMb2Y

— National Police (@policia) October 20, 2023

According to the Official Letter signed by the Secretary of State for Security, which expands security measures, Spain has reinforced surveillance on the embassies of Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Sweden and Denmark.. In addition, the plan pays special attention to Jewish places of worship and religious events and dates..

The Palestinian Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, Hamas, has called for the solidarity of the Arab people for its cause.. In addition, one of its main allies in the area, the Lebanese militia party Hezbollah, announced this week a “day of unprecedented anger” within the framework of the visit of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to Israel this Wednesday..