The Government warns that security in the Maghreb is key to the level of terrorist threat in Spain

The National Strategy against Terrorism warns of the risk of returned combatants and lone actors

MADRID, 19 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The security situation in the Maghreb is one of the key factors in the level of terrorist threat in Spain, according to the new National Strategy against Terrorism approved by the National Security Council, which focuses on the growing links between jihadists. and organized crime and the risk posed by both the so-called foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) and lone actors.

"The security situation in the Maghreb continues to be one of the factors that most affects the level of terrorist threat in Spain and on our interests in said region," underlines the document, consulted by Europa Press, in which it is not mentioned without However, at no time did it affect Morocco or Algeria, two key countries in this region.

For this reason, the strategy emphasizes, "the fight against terrorism in the Maghreb constitutes a priority for Spain" and also "one of the great challenges in this matter."

In this sense, it highlights that "the existing links between organized crime and terrorism are causing the jihadist phenomenon to develop and expand, providing the African affiliates of DAESH (Islamic State) and Al Qaeda with various logistical resources, as well as as weapons or training.

Furthermore, it draws attention to the fact that "close links between Maghreb jihadists with residents in our country have been confirmed, as well as the high percentage of CTE and terrorists detained in Spain with this origin."

In a recent report published by the Elcano Royal Institute, it was precisely stated that six out of every ten jihadists convicted or killed in Spain in the last decade were born in Morocco (55.9%) and five out of ten have Moroccan nationality (48%). , a difference that lies in the fact that some have become naturalized.

On the other hand, the strategy also admits that "the specific connections detected between jihadists and human trafficking networks, especially in the central Mediterranean, increase the risk of entry into European territory of returnees and other terrorists, as well as highly vulnerable individuals. radicalized."

According to the document, "the main terrorist threat" to Spain "continues to come from terrorist organizations of a jihadist nature, fundamentally DAESH and Al Qaeda." The current strategy of these organizations for the West focuses on "calls for the activation of their followers to carry out individual terrorist actions."

Furthermore, the Strategy maintains that it is considered that the intention of both Al Qaeda and the Islamic State to "perpetrate actions of a certain magnitude in Europe, for which they could rely on both Foreign Terrorist Fighters returned from conflict zones, as well as on members from its various regional subsidiaries and local cells".

With regard to the so-called CTE, that is, those Spaniards or residents in Spain who, starting in 2011, traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight in the ranks of jihadist organizations, he admits that "this phenomenon represents a threat to national security." and represents an important concern for the Spanish authorities".

Of particular concern is the case of returned combatants, "given that their presence and activity in conflict zones has provided them with sufficient operational knowledge, experience in handling weapons, contacts, knowledge of routes and facilitating agents, in addition to a possible position of leadership, turning them into backbones of radical awareness and with real possibilities in the subsequent execution of acts of terrorism".

Spain is already acting to counteract this phenomenon with measures such as the preparation of a single common list of CTE, which is in charge of the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO), "updating the necessary police and judicial control measures , as well as timely sharing of data in accordance with the usual information exchange channels."

On the other hand, the strategy admits that "the threat from lone actors has increased in recent years" and attributes this fact among other things to "the accessibility of extremist propaganda online." The use of the Internet and social networks allows individuals to "be radicalized without the need to belong to an established terrorist group," she emphasizes.

"The difficulty in detecting them" also contributes to this increase, given that they act alone or in small groups and lack links with formal terrorist organizations, and "the use of any instrument as a weapon to carry out their attacks."

To confront this threat, the strategy explains, "it is necessary to adopt preventive and security measures, such as the early identification of radicalization processes and agents or the removal of terrorist content from the Internet to prevent access to them." .

Likewise, the document prepared by the National Security Council also considers "it is important to promote education and awareness in society about the threat of lone actors, and to encourage tolerance and inclusion to prevent radicalization."

Likewise, it considers "initiatives and research to identify possible links between mental health and radicalization" as a priority within the framework of strategies to combat terrorism and the prevention of violent radicalization both in the EU and internationally.

Although "mental disorder cannot be directly linked to violent radicalization," "the presence of certain mental illnesses is a vulnerability factor," he highlights, also identifying social isolation as "another risk factor."

In another order of things, the strategy recognizes that "penitentiary centers constitute areas of priority care and monitoring, both in Spain and in the rest of the EU", since "the penitentiary environment can constitute a favorable environment for radical individuals to attempt "to develop proselytism, radicalization and recruitment efforts among the inmate population."

At a geographical level, the document recognizes the relevance of the Sahel "in regards to the terrorist threat and the increase in irregular migratory flows that can be taken advantage of by terrorist elements to cover their movements."

Likewise, it considers that the war in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion is "a potential catalytic vector of terrorism" since "it has led to an increase in the circulation of weapons and explosives, as well as the participation in the war of volunteer combatants of other nationalities." .

These circumstances, it draws attention, "can be taken advantage of by global terrorism, by terrorist organizations, related groups or sympathetic individuals to undermine public security, and in which state actors could also carry out terrorist actions."

On the other hand, it points out that "the new focus of global instability represented by the war between Israel and Hamas (...) is having social, political, economic and migratory consequences whose scope is difficult to foresee." This conflict represents "a real and direct risk of affecting the terrorist threat, violent extremism and the emergence of new movements that promote a radical and violent ideology."