SPANISH and Italian police have arrested 11 terror suspects accused of plotting ‘violent’ assaults in Spain by looking ‘blasphemous’ infidels on social media.
The Policia Nacional mentioned 10 folks cuffed in Barcelona had ‘inspired the fee of violent actions by way of encrypted channels.’
It mentioned the arrests had been a part of the ‘third part of an investigation by which 30 extra folks from a radical Pakistani organisation have been arrested.’ One particular person was additionally arrested in Piacenza, northern Italy.
In a press release yesterday, police mentioned the suspects are accused of glorifying and financing terrorism, indoctrination and of making ready an assault.
Disturbingly, sources near the investigation informed Spanish media that the fear cell is totally unbiased, that means it was created and headquartered in Spain, with out the assistance or encouragement of worldwide teams like ISIS or Al-Qaeda.
Nonetheless, a number of transfers from overseas have but to be absolutely analysed, which may shed extra gentle on the cell’s heirachy.
El Publico experiences that plans for an assault had been ‘near being carried out’ and that the ‘deciding on of targets’ was at an ‘superior stage’.
Sources quoted by the newspaper mentioned the cell was combing social media to search out ‘blasphemous’ folks, together with searching for out targets who had criticised Islam or the prophet Muhammad on TikTok, Instagram, Telegram and elsewhere.
The modus operandi resembles that of the horrific assault towards the French journal Charlie Hebdo (January 2015) and the homicide of the French professor Samuel Paty (October 2020).
A 55-year-old Pakistani citizen, named solely by his initials A.A., and who lives in Barcelona, ??is alleged to be the chief of the dismantled terrorist group.
He has been launched whereas the investigation continues. He’s mentioned to have lived off the cell’s revenue and didn’t work. Police mentioned he received the respect of the group’s members because of his age, ‘worldwide ties’ and ‘charming’ nature.
Among the many arrested is a gaggle of girls allegedly devoted to deciding on targets for an assault. Their chief has additionally been launched below circumstances.
The ladies all had social media accounts devoted to following folks they believed dedicated blasphemy and who had been on the record of potential targets.
A lot of the arrested helped transfer cash for the group, together with one who ran a cellphone store and helped switch tens of hundreds of euros to the cell, which was present in mountains of money throughout a number of raids this week.
The group used encrypted prompt messaging channels by which they referred to as for the decapitation and homicide of ‘infidels’.
