CERTAIN NUMBER OF JIHADISTS IDENTIFIED AMONG MIGRANTS

MADRID, AUGUST 5 /SRNA/ – Spanish security services have identified several suspected jihadists among migrants who entered the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa, reports Spanish newspapers El Español and The Objective.

Spain's National Police and intelligence services analyzed surveillance camera footage and identified at least 12 individuals who had previously been arrested, convicted and later deported to Morocco for offenses related to jihadism and terrorism.

Last week, terrorism experts told Euronews that the jihadist threat in Spain had entered a "fourth phase," characterized by highly decentralized radicalization through social media and propaganda shared online and in short videos, rather than through traditional hierarchical organisations.

The experts also stressed that Spain and Morocco maintain close cooperation in combating terrorism, particularly in intelligence sharing and monitoring radicalized individuals, which is considered crucial when tracking large migration flows.

In May 2021, thousands of migrants entered Ceuta in a similar manner. At the time, the Spanish government dismissed reports that jihadists had infiltrated the migrant population, calling them "malicious rumors."

So far, neither the Spanish government nor the country's security services have commented on the latest reports.