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TERRORISM

France arrests three linked to Barcelona attacks

Three people have been arrested in France for alleged links to a suspect in last year's deadly jihadist attacks in Barcelona and a nearby seaside resort, the Spanish interior ministry said Tuesday.

Published: 20 February 2018 15:38 CET
France arrests three linked to Barcelona attacks
Tributes on the Ramblas in Barcelona following the August terror attacks. Photo: AFP

The arrests were made during a joint operation with French and Spanish police in the south and southwest of France, the ministry said in a statement..

A total of 16 people were killed when a van drove into crowds on the popular Las Ramblas boulevard in the heart of Barcelona and in a knife attack in the nearby resort of Cambrils in August 2017.

The three arrested were suspected to have links with Moroccan national Driss Oukabir, who was alleged to have rented the van used in the Barcelona rampage.

Oukabir was arrested shortly after the attacks — which were claimed by the Islamic State group — and remanded in custody on terror-related offences.

TERRORISM

Italian police arrest Algerian wanted for alleged IS ties

Police in Milan said on Thursday they had arrested a 37-year-old Algerian man in the subway, later discovering he was wanted for alleged ties to Islamic State.

Published: 9 November 2023 15:18 CET
Italian police arrest Algerian wanted for alleged IS ties

When stopped by police officers for a routine check, the man became “particularly aggressive”, said police in Milan, who added the arrest took place “in recent days”.

He was “repeatedly shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while attempting to grab from his backpack an object that turned out to be a knife with a blade more than 12cm (nearly five inches) long,” they said in a statement.

The man was later found to be wanted by authorities in Algeria, suspected since 2015 of belonging to “Islamic State militias and employed in the Syrian-Iraqi theatre of war,” police said.

Police said the suspect was unknown to Italian authorities.

The man is currently in Milan’s San Vittore prison and awaiting extradition, they added.

Jihadist group IS proclaimed a “caliphate” in 2014 across swathes of Syria and Iraq, launching a reign of terror that continues with hit-and-run attacks and ambushes.

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