Actualizado 15/01/2019 15:26:32 CET

421428.1.500.286.20190115072206

Cinco de los arrestados estaban "en avanzado estado de radicalización"

BARCELONA, 15 (EUROPA PRESS)

La operación contra el yihadismo desplegada este martes por los Mossos d'Esquadra en Barcelona e Igualada (Barcelona) se ha saldado con 17 detenidos de entre 23 y 44 años, aunque sigue abierta desde primera hora de este martes.

Cinco de los arrestados estaban en "avanzado estado de radicalización y tenían la convicción y el propósito de atentar", ha explicado el conseller de Interior de la Generalitat, Miquel Buch, en una declaración institucional junto al director general de Mossos, Andreu Joan Martínez; el comisario jefe de la Comisaría General de Información, Manel Castellví, y el inspector portavoz del cuerpo, Albert Oliva.

Buch ha detallado que la investigación del llamado 'caso Alexandría' ha durado casi un año y medio, y que, con los otros 12 detenidos, los presuntos terroristas "formaban parte de una organización criminal que había hecho del delito su 'modus' de vida" a través de robos y hurtos.

Ha destacado que si bien los detenidos tenían intención de cometer un atentado, "el trabajo de análisis e investigación de los Mossos d'Esquadra han hecho que en ningún momento" hayan tenido capacidad de llevar a cabo ningún ataque.

Castellví ha añadido que el primer grupo de cinco detenidos son mayoritariamente originarios de Algeria, pero que uno de ellos es de Libia y otro de Irak, y que están arrestados por presuntos delitos de terrorismo, organización criminal y de carácter patrimonial.

INVESTIGADOS DESDE MAYO DE 2017

Entre el resto de 12 detenidos, también hay sospechosos de nacionalidad marroquí y egipcia, y ha informado de que los miembros del grupo estuvieron "estrictamente controlados" desde mayo de 2017.

Y ha remarcado que "en ningún momento han tenido capacidad de poder atentar" gracias a la investigación, que este martes ha implicado la operación con los arrestos y seis entradas y registros en domicilios de Barcelona e Igualada, bajo tutela del Juzgado Central de Instrucción 6 de la Audiencia Nacional.

El grupo presuntamente se dedicaba a delitos contra el patrimonio de manera principal, aunque "alguno" de los detenidos también incurrió en supuesta falsedad documental y tráfico de estupefacientes.

Ha especificado que el "control exhaustivo" del grupo ha permitido acreditar hasta 369 presuntos delitos contra el patrimonio --principalmente hurtos-- en el centro de Barcelona.

La operación sigue abierta tras comenzar a primera hora y en ella han participado más de 100 agentes de Mossos, algunos de áreas especializadas como el Grupo Especial de Intervención (Gei), los Tedax o la unidad canina, además de decenas de agentes de seguridad ciudadana.

NINGÚN ATAQUE PLANIFICADO

Según han informado fuentes conocedoras del caso, los detenidos tenían voluntad de atentar aunque no se ha detectado que tuvieran una infraestructura preparada para ello ni que hubieran planificado un atentado en un lugar y día concreto.

Las mismas fuentes han precisado que el grupo de cinco detenidos más radicalizado pasará a disposición de la Audiencia Nacional, aunque entre los otros 12 arrestados también hay alguno investigado por terrorismo.

Los primeros configuraban un núcleo "muy radicalizado", mientras que el segundo grupo se dedicaba especialmente a hurtos y robos, en algunos casos consistentes en sustraer documentación, según las mismas fuentes.

EL VECINO DE UNO DE LOS DETENIDOS DICE QUE NO ERA RELIGIOSO

El vecino y presidente de la escalera del bloque en el que vivía uno de los detenidos ha asegurado que el arrestado no era una persona religiosa. En declaraciones a los medios este martes, el hombre, de nombre Mohamed, ha explicado que el detenido fumaba y bebía: "Por lo que sé, no es nada religioso".

El presidente del edificio, situado en la calle del Arc de Sant Cristòfol 6-8 del distrito de Ciutat Vella, ha dicho que él sí es musulmán practicante y nunca ha visto al detenido rezar en los lugares que frecuenta.

Ha asegurado que llevaba viéndole por el barrio "muchos años" y vivía en su edificio ocupando una vivienda desde verano junto a un compañero de piso.

Se ha mostrado "un poco en shock" y con miedo tras conocer la noticia del arresto, y ha dicho desconocer a qué se dedican el arrestado y su compañero de piso.

También en declaraciones a los medios, el compañero de piso del arrestado ha asegurado que el detenido era buen amigo, "no tiene nada que ver con el terrorismo" y no acudía a la mezquita.

Ha detallado que no rezaba nunca y se dedicaba a robar carteras: "Es un ladrón".</s>Police in Spain on Tuesday arrested 17 men connected to a suspected network of Islamic State supporters, five of whom are accused of forming a terror cell planning to launch attacks in Barcelona, with the rest suspected of having stolen passports from tourists to support the aspiring jihadists.

The group had been the subject of covert investigation for 18 months, Catalonia’s regional police force said, meaning the probe started at a similar time to the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils of August 2017 in which 16 died.

Speaking after the raids, Miquel Buch, Catalonia’s interior chief, said there had been no risk “at any time” of the group pulling off an attack as they were being closely tracked by the police with support from Spain’s CNI secret service.

“Those arrested wanted to commit attacks, but that doesn’t mean they had the actual capacity to carry out a terrorist act”, Mr Buch said.

Five men aged between 33 and 44 were believed to have made up the hardcore of the cell. Police said three of them are from Algeria, while one is Libyan the other Iraqi. All of the suspects lived in Barcelona.</s>Catalan regional security forces on Tuesday made 17 arrests as part of an operation launched against suspected members of a terror cell that was allegedly planning a series of attacks, police said.

Under the codename "Operation Alexandria," police carried out five raids in Barcelona, mainly in the Ciutat Vella neighborhood, and one in Igualada on the outskirts of Barcelona.</s>Spanish police launched a counter-terrorism operation in Barcelona and a nearby city against on Tuesday against a cell suspected of plotting an attack, a police spokesman said.

Two people had been arrested in Barcelona and Igualada, 60 kilometres (40 miles) west of the Catalan capital, as part of the raid, the spokesman for Catalonia's police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, told AFP. Further arrests were expected, he added.

"The goal (of the cell) was to attack but we are still investigating which places may have been targeted," the spokesman said.

Over 100 officers were taking part in the "counter-terrorism operation" launched by the Catalan police force at six am (0500 GMT), the Mossos said on Twitter.

Police stormed five properties in Barcelona and a sixth in Igualada as part of the operation.

Armed officers, wearing black ski masks, stood guard outside a building in central Barcelona as boxes and bags were removed from a flat, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

The operation was ordered by Spain's High Court, which is charged with terrorism investigations, and it is focused on "the crimes of terrorism, public health offences and organised crime", the Mossos said.

Barcelona was on alert last month after the US State Department warned off the risk of a terrorist attack in Spain's second-largest city over Christmas.

On August 17, 2017, a van rammed crowds on Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard, killing 14 people and injuring over 130 others.

The 22-year-old Moroccan driver then stole a car after killing the driver and fled.

Several hours later five of his accomplices mowed down pedestrians on the promenade of the seaside resort of Cambrils, south of Barcelona, before stabbing a woman to death.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, Spain’s deadliest in over a decade.</s>Barcelona — Spanish police mounted a counter-terrorism operation in Barcelona and a nearby city on Tuesday against a cell suspected of plotting an attack, local officials said.

Officers arrested 17 people in Barcelona and Igualada, 60km west of the Catalan capital, as part of the raid, Catalonia’s Mossos d’Esquadra police force said.

The suspects “intended to carry out an attack”, but police work “ensured that at no moment did they have the capacity to carry out these actions”, Catalan interior minister Miquel Buch said.

More than 100 officers were taking part in the “counter-terrorism operation” launched by the Catalan police force at 6am, the Mossos said on Twitter.

One person was arrested in Igualada while the rest were detained in Barcelona.

Police did not give any details on the suspects but Spanish media said they were North Africans.

Armed officers, wearing black ski masks, stood guard outside a building in central Barcelona as boxes and bags were removed from a flat, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

The operation was ordered by Spain’s high court, which is charged with terrorism investigations, and it is focused on “the crimes of terrorism, public health offences and organised crime”, the Mossos said.

Barcelona, Spain’s most visited city, was on alert in December after the US state department warned of the risk of a terrorist attack in Spain’s second-largest city over Christmas.

Spanish media reported at the time that the authorities were looking for a Moroccan man with a licence to drive buses.

The reports said it was not clear if the man was in Spain or not.

On August 17 2017, a van rammed crowds on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas boulevard, killing 14 people and injuring over 130 others. The 22-year-old Moroccan driver then stole a car after killing the driver and fled.

Several hours later five of his accomplices mowed down pedestrians on the promenade of the seaside resort of Cambrils, south of Barcelona, before stabbing a woman to death.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, Spain’s worst since the Madrid train bombings in 2004 when 191 people died and more than 1,800 were injured.

Spain has had its terrorist alert at the second-highest level since 2015. Catalonia has a long history of Islamist militant activity. A member of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group was uncovered in the region in 1995.

Mohamed Atta, who flew a passenger plane into a tower of the World Trade Center on September 11 2001, in New York, spent time in Catalonia shortly before the attacks.

In 2008, a plot targeting Barcelona’s metro system was foiled when it was in its advanced stages.

One in four people detained in Spain over extremist Islamist-linked terrorism come from the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, according to a study published in 2017 by the Real Instituto Elcano, a Spanish think-tank, which called the province the country’s “main centre of jihadist activity”.</s>Catalan regional security forces on Tuesday made 14 arrests as part of an operation launched against suspected members of a terror cell allegedly preparing a series of attacks, police said.

Under the codename "Operation Alexandria," police carried out five raids in Barcelona, mainly in the Ciutat Vella neighborhood, leading to the arrests of 13 suspects, while another individual was arrested in Igualada on the outskirts of Barcelona.</s>COPS have launched a major operation amid fears of a terror plot, it has emerged this morning.

Police confirmed they have made a string of arrests in Barcelona and another in nearby Igualada as part of the ongoing probe. Officers are thought to be targeting a jihadist support network. Detectives stormed five properties in the Catalan capital and a sixth in Igualada, a town an hour’s drive north west of Barcelona. Up to a dozen suspects could be detained, police sources claim.

“Terrorism is a global threat and we all have to maximise security.” The operation is being coordinated by the Audiencia Nacional – a Madrid-based central criminal court. A regional police spokesperson said: “A police counter-terrorism operation has been launched. “We are carrying out six raids in Barcelona and Igualada following a lengthy operation coordinated by the Audiencia Nacional. “The operation is ongoing. More than 100 officers from different units are taking part. “Several arrests are taking place in Barcelona and one in Igualada as part of an operation relating to terrorism and other crimes including membership of a criminal organisation.”

The suspects, thought to be Algerian and Moroccan, are believed to be part of a terror cell that was in the infancy of planning an attack. And they allegedly stole passports and other ID from tourists to use as part of their plot, local reports claim. It comes just months after Moroccan national Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, used a rented van to mow down and kill 15 people including British-born Julian Cadman, seven, in Barcelona’s famous Las Ramblas on August 17 last year. More than 130 people were injured in the bloodbath.

Last month police in Barcelona revealed fears a Moroccan man could carry out a terror attack in the city on Christmas Day. Officers were told the Casablanca-born terrorist may try to commit a spectacular massacre in the Catalan capital using a coach or similar type of vehicle. The terror warning was highlighted by several Spanish papers on Christmas Eve who said they had seen an internal alert sent to regional Mossos d’Esquadra officers. The revelation surfaced after the US state department tweeted: “Spain. Exercise heightened caution around areas of vehicle movement including buses in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona during Christmas and New Year.

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Or download the Daily Star app for flash alerts on the biggest stories of the day.</s>More than 100 officers from different units are taking part in the raid

Searches have taken place in five properties in the Catalan capital and a sixth in Igualada, a town an hour’s drive north west of Barcelona.

Well-placed sources say they expect to end up detaining around a dozen people.

The operation is being coordinated by the Audiencia Nacional – a Madrid-based central criminal court.

A spokesman for the regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force said: “A police counter-terrorism operation has been launched.

“We are carrying out six raids in Barcelona and Igualada following a lengthy operation coordinated by the Audiencia Nacional.

“The operation is ongoing. More than 100 officers from different units are taking part.</s>MADRID -- Authorities in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia said 17 people, including five alleged members of an extremist Islamist cell, were arrested Tuesday as part of an ongoing anti-terror operation.

As well as having terror links, the suspects also allegedly participated in theft, drug trafficking and other crimes, according to the Mossos d'Esquadra regional police.

More than 100 agents took part in the operation, which was ongoing as of mid-afternoon, a spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said six venues had been searched in and near Barcelona, the regional capital. She declined to be identified by name in line with the police force's standard practices.

Catalan regional minister of security, Miquel Buch, told reporters most of the arrests took place in a central Barcelona neighbourhood, but some were made in the nearby town of Igualada.

The five suspected of being part of an extremist cell were originally from Algeria, Buch told reporters.

“They were determined about carrying out an attack, but they didn't have the capacity for it,” he said.

Investigating magistrate Manuel Garcia-Castellon of the National Court, which normally handles terror-related probes in Spain, ordered the arrests and will be interrogating those who remain in custody later this week, a court spokesman told The Associated Press, following customary rules of anonymity.

Also Tuesday, authorities in southern Spain's Malaga arrested a 27-year-old Moroccan national who police said they suspect could be linked to the Islamic State group. The man allegedly used several social network profiles to express violent views and allegiance to the extremist group.</s>Catalan regional security forces early Tuesday launched an anti-terror operation against suspected members of a terror cell that was allegedly preparing a series of attacks and arrested one person, according to sources close to the investigation.

Catalonia's regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, was expecting to make additional arrests as part of the ongoing operation taking place in the cities of Barcelona and Igualada on court orders.
Catalan regional police in Barcelona and Igualada arrest 17 suspected terrorists ready to launch a terrorist attack.