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The Spanish Civil Guard and the Moroccan DGST dismantle a terrorist structure in several locations in Spain

In an operation carried out on 2 July by the Information Service of the Civil Guard together with the General Directorate of Surveillance over the Moroccan Territory (DGST), under the direction of the Central Court of Instruction No. 6 and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the National Court, eight people have been arrested in Melilla, Alcobendas and San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid) and Malaga.

As part of the early detection of potential terrorist threats to public safety, in 2023 the Civil Guard’s Information Service began an investigation into a group of young people living mainly in the Autonomous City of Melilla. Through the use of private messaging groups, they shared and disseminated propaganda material suitable for terrorist indoctrination of third parties and inciting them to commit violent acts.

Throughout the investigation, clues have been obtained about the organisation and constitution of a group that has been growing over time, both online and offline, and whose members have become immersed in the most extreme and violent postulates of jihadist terrorist organisations. Much of the propaganda material detected belongs to terrorist organisations such as DAESH or DAESH-KP.

The proselytising action of the group members, through the virtual world, had led them to contact other like-minded individuals, in other parts of Spain, such as Malaga and Madrid. These people were indoctrinated, through the sending of jihadist propaganda, through various platforms, in addition to receiving advice and instruction in sentences and verdicts of jihadist leaders legitimising the carrying out of violent actions.

In the last phase of the operation, the suspects had internalised the violent principles of jihad. For this reason, they were arrested and evidence was seized with eight arrests in searches carried out in a coordinated and simultaneous manner in Madrid, Malaga and Melilla.

The operation now completed was supported by the cooperation of the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST) of the Kingdom of Morocco, whose constant and qualified support enabled the investigations to progress. This highlights the importance of international cooperation between anti-terrorist services in order to be able to confront this threat and the great challenge of anticipating the terrorists’ move to action.

The detainees were brought before the court on Thursday, July 4, and five of them were remanded in custody.

Another person arrested in Cornellà (Barcelona)

On the other hand, on July 1st, another alleged jihadist who used encrypted social media and instant messaging platforms to indoctrinate people in favor of precepts favorable to the use of violence for terrorist purposes was arrested in Cornellá (Barcelona).

The media work of this detainee was focused on the layout of jihadist multimedia content, using specialized editing applications supported by Artificial Intelligence. Despite his youth, he emerged as a recognized virtual terrorist fighter with great influence over the individuals he tried to radicalize.

This detainee was also brought before the court on Thursday, July 4, and was ordered to be placed in provisional prison.

This operation has had the support of several units of the Civil Guard, such as the Special Intervention Unit, the Rapid Action Group, the Reserve and Security Group, the Air Service, the Canine Service and the Citizen Security Unit of the Madrid Command.