Expats In Spain Warned Over ‘very Likely’ Terror Attacks

Although the British Foreign Office gave no reason for its terror attack warning, vigilance seems to be the message.

Both tourists and expatriates in Spain are being urged to be aware of the terrorism threat and to follow any instructions given by local authorities across the country. No reason was given as to why the warning was issued, but a recent newspaper article claiming an ISIS member now in police custody was planning to attack the popular Manilva fair may have spiked the announcement.

Costa del Sol police arrested the Moroccan suspect last week after breaking into his apartment, although a local Muslim Imam immediately condemned the planned attack as ‘crazy’, saying the suspect was not a practicing Muslim. According to police, suspect Anwar Andalosi had sent a video to jihadists based in Syria, in which he outlined his plans to attack the popular expat destination’s summer fair.

Apparently, he’d video’d last year’s event and decided it was the perfect place to plant a bomb, spending the last few months downloading Daesh-made videos from the dark web. Many of the downloads featured jihadists being sworn in to the terrorist group as well as graphic footage of murders carried out by its members. According to police, Andalosi was also researching the purchase of guns and knives, and his Facebook friends’ web pages included profiles of terrorists sharing ISIS propaganda in addition to videos of attacks carried out by Al Quaeda and Daesh. At one time he’d planned to travel to Syria and join Daesh, but was unable to do so as he feared for his family’s safety in Spain.