Nine arrests in Spain as Guardia civil and FBI bust Islamic state’s ‘biggest terrorist propaganda operation’

From the Olive Press, El Confidencial and the Daily Mail

SPAIN’S Civil Guard and the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have broken up what they say was the ‘biggest propaganda operation’ ever seen linked to terrorist group Islamic State.

The international operation was coordinated by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), and targeted what are known as Terrorist Operated Websites (TOW).

A total of nine people were arrested in Spain as part of the operation. The detentions were carried out in Algeciras (Cadiz), Antas (Almeria) and Salt (Girona). Another arrest was made in January at Barcelona’s El Prat airport, when one of the suspects was about to take a flight to a conflict zone after having become radicalised by Islamic State.

The investigation began in Spain in 2022, after the authorities detected terrorist content appearing online translated into Spanish.  The content was linked to a media outlet called Fundacion I’lam. . . Fundacion I’lam was allegedly facilitating access to terrorist propaganda in more than 30 different languages, providing a public access point to material from Islamic State.  According to a statement from the Guardia Civil, the joint operation with the FBI took place in a series of different countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, France, Estonia, Romania and Iceland.

According to Spanish outlet El Confidencial, terrorists were ordered to shoot at Real Madrid players . . . The report claims that the operation uncovered a number of orders directed at Real Madrid, the Santiago Bernabeu and Los Blancos fans.

A post was circulated on the now dismantled network, which includes the imagery of a person in a balaclava or hood aiming a gun at what looks to be a stock picture of a coach.

The image is accompanied by the message: ‘My dear brother. Wait in a place near the arrival point of the players. Aim at them along with their supporters.’

Another post was reportedly more directed at the Santiago Bernabeu, saying: ‘My dear brother in Al-Andalus. A very valuable target awaits you.  Break through the crowds, distract security with improvised explosives and decoy devices and advance towards your main target with determination.’

Real Madrid are believed to have offered their gratitude to the authorities for protecting its players and fans.