Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 18-08-2017
A security and defence consultant has told Radio Islam the reason Barcelona has come under attack from ISIS is because Spain and Portugal were once part of the Islamic kingdom of Andalusia.
At least 13 people were killed and 120 injured after a suspect ploughed a white van into a crowd yesterday in the bustling Las Ramblas area, a 1.2-kilometre stretch of shops and restaurants usually heaving with tourists.
Spanish police say they have arrested four people in connection with the attacks, three of them Moroccan and one from the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Morocco’s northern coast.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement carried on its Aamaq news agency.
James Glancy says there has been very strong Islamic ties to Southern Europe and particularly Spain.
“In those times there was a caliphate in Spain, so this is a very historical part of the world for the Islamic State narrative.”
Glancy says another reason ISIS attacked Barcelona is because of the large and peaceful Muslim population in Spain.
“A small element has been radicalized online by Islamic State and Al-Qaeda propaganda and it’s that small element that have launched this attack in the last 24 hours.”
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