Jihadist cell which "wanted to attack" uncovered by Catalan Police
The Catalan Police Force, Mossos d'Esquadra, detained on Wednesday in several cities across Greater Barcelona 11 people who were allegedly forming an Islamic terrorist cell. The cell was "operational" and "wanted to attack in Catalonia", according to the Catalan Minister for Home Affairs, Ramon Espadaler. The alleged terrorists were "clearly connected to the Islamic State" and "supported its ideology", emphasised Espadaler. The cell "had 3 objectives": "recruiting young people and radicalising them", "sending some of these young people to Syria and Iraq", and preparing an attack in Catalonia. Despite this information, Espadaler highlighted that "at no time has this cell generated any kind of danger, as it has been under investigation and police surveillance for the last 13 months".