Velika i dobro organizirana teroristička ćelija izvela je prije 20 godina smrtonosne bombaške napade na vlakove u Madridu. U današnje vrijeme džihadističke prijetnje s kojima se Španjolska suočava dolaze od vukova samotnjaka i manjih samoradikaliziranih skupina.
Deset bombi postavljeno je 11. ožujka 2004. na četiri prigradska vlaka koja su prometovala prema željezničkoj postaji Atocha u glavnom gradu.
Bombe su eksplodirale u razmaku od nekoliko minuta. Ubijene su 192 osobe, a ranjeno je gotovo 2000 u najgorem napadu džihadista u Europi. Napade je izvela velika ćelija sastavljena uglavnom od prve generacije marokanskih doseljenika.
Sedam osumnjičenih članova ćelije raznijelo se tri tjedna kasnije kad je policija opkolila njihovo skrovište u predgrađu Madrida.
Još njih 18, uglavnom Marokanaca te nekoliko Španjolaca, Sirijac i Egipćanin, završili su u zatvoru zbog napada.
Drukčije džihadističke prijetnje
Jedan od razloga za napad bio je to što se Španjolska pridružila Amerikancima i Britancima u invaziji na Irak. Nekoliko dana poslije napada na željeznicu održani su izbori na kojima je do tada vladajuća konzervativna Narodna stranka glatko izgubila.
Dva desetljeća kasnije najnovije godišnje izvješće o nacionalnoj sigurnosti Španjolske pokazalo je da “najveću (džihadističku) prijetnju” Španjolskoj i Zapadu predstavljaju “vukovi samotnjaci” i samoradikalizirane ćelije”.
Sada je “teže izvršiti složeni teroristički napad u Španjolskoj” s obzirom na to da je sposobnost Islamske države (IS) i Al-Kaide da organiziraju takve napade u Europi “značajno smanjena”.
Unatoč tome, Španjolska je i dalje na visokoj drugoj od pet razina uzbune.
“Individualni, emocionalni džihad”
U posljednjem velikom napadu u Španjolskoj 2017. godine ubijeno je 16 osoba u Barceloni i obližnjem primorskom gradu Cambrilsu.
Najnovije nasilje inspirirano džihadom provedeno je kroz tri pojedinačne operacije 2018., 2019. i 2023., koje su odnijele dva života.
Činilo se da je svaki napad bio motiviran izljevom bijesa, problemima s mentalnim zdravljem ili osvetom i praktički nikakvom prethodnom pripremom. I ni jedan nije uključivao upotrebu vatrenog oružja.
“Primjećujemo individualniji, emocionalniji pristup džihadu”, rekla je Carola Garcia-Calvo, viša istraživačica radikalizacije i globalnog terorizma u madridskom think tanku Real Instituto Elcano.
“Ne smijemo smanjiti oprez jer je karakteristika globalnog džihadističkog pokreta i njegove inherentne terorističke prijetnje njegova ogromna sposobnost mutiranja i prilagodbe novim kontekstima”, rekla je.
Novi mobilizirajući element pojavio se posljednjih nekoliko mjeseci s ratom Izraela i Hamasa, dodala je.
Fernando Reinares, stručnjak za džihadizam i autor tri knjige o bombaškim napadima na vlakove u Madridu, rekao je da je prijetnja za Španjolsku još uvijek “značajna”. Govorio je o tome prošlog tjedna na okruglom stolu Kraljevskog instituta Elcano.
Španjolska je “među tri europske zemlje koje su sustavno provodile najviše protuterorističkih operacija i uhitile najviše osumnjičenih džihadista”, istaknuo je.
Više od 1000 uhićenja
U vrijeme napada 2004. Španjolska se suočavala i s prijetnjom ETA-e, naoružane separatističke skupine koja je predala svoje oružje 2011. i raspala se sedam godina kasnije.
To je omogućilo snagama sigurnosti da svoju pozornost usmjere na islamski radikalizam. U dva desetljeća od bombaških napada na vlakove Španjolska je uhitila 1047 osumnjičenih u 408 operacija, pokazuju službeni podaci.
I profil potencijalnog džihadista se promijenio. Obično su mlađi, često rođeni u Španjolskoj i u kontaktu s kolegama ekstremistima uglavnom na internetu.
“Kao prvo, radikali su mlađi ljudi”, napisao je Alvaro Vicente, analitičar iz think tanka Kraljevski institut Elcano. “Mlađi od 18 jedina su demografska skupina koja je porasla među džihadističkim militantima u posljednjem desetljeću”, dodao je.
“Drugo, uspostavljeni su virtualni prostori gdje se (radikalizacija) odvija”, rekao je Vicente./Hina/HMS/
Spain faces a new generation of jihadists: Young and radicalized on the internet
A large and well-organized terrorist cell carried out deadly bomb attacks on trains in Madrid 20 years ago. Nowadays, the jihadist threats Spain faces come from lone wolves and smaller self-radicalized groups.
Ten bombs were placed on March 11, 2004, on four suburban trains heading towards the Atocha train station in the capital city.
The bombs exploded within minutes of each other. 192 people were killed, and nearly 2000 were injured in Europe’s worst jihadist attack. The attacks were carried out by a large cell mainly composed of first-generation Moroccan immigrants.
Seven suspected cell members blew themselves up three weeks later when the police surrounded their hideout in a Madrid suburb.
Another 18, mostly Moroccans along with several Spaniards, a Syrian, and an Egyptian, ended up in prison for the attacks.
Different jihadist threats
One of the reasons for the attack was Spain’s joining of the US and UK in the invasion of Iraq. Several days after the train attack, elections were held in which the incumbent conservative People’s Party suffered a heavy defeat.
Two decades later, the latest annual report on Spain’s national security showed that the “greatest (jihadist) threat” to Spain and the West comes from “lone wolves” and self-radicalized cells.
Now, it is “harder to carry out complex terrorist attacks in Spain” given that the ability of the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda to organize such attacks in Europe has been “significantly reduced.”
Nevertheless, Spain remains at a high second level of alert out of five.
“Individual, emotional jihad”
In the most recent major attack in Spain in 2017, 16 people were killed in Barcelona and the nearby coastal town of Cambrils.
The latest jihadist-inspired violence was carried out through three individual operations in 2018, 2019, and 2023, claiming two lives.
Each attack seemed to be motivated by outbursts of anger, mental health issues, or revenge, with virtually no prior preparation. And none involved the use of firearms.
“We notice a more individualistic, emotional approach to jihad,” said Carola Garcia-Calvo, a senior researcher on radicalization and global terrorism at the Real Instituto Elcano think tank in Madrid.
“We must not lower our guard because the characteristic of the global jihadist movement and its inherent terrorist threat is its enormous ability to mutate and adapt to new contexts,” she said.
A new mobilizing element has emerged in the past few months with the conflict between Israel and Hamas, she added.
Fernando Reinares, an expert on jihadism and author of three books on the Madrid train bombings, said the threat to Spain is still “significant.” He spoke about it last week at a roundtable at the Elcano Royal Institute.
Spain is “among the three European countries that have systematically carried out the most counter-terrorism operations and arrested the most suspected jihadists,” he emphasized.
More than 1000 arrests
At the time of the 2004 attacks, Spain also faced the threat of ETA, an armed separatist group that surrendered its weapons in 2011 and disbanded seven years later.
This allowed security forces to focus on Islamic radicalism. In the two decades since the train bombings, Spain has arrested 1047 suspects in 408 operations, according to official data.
The profile of potential jihadists has also changed. They are usually younger, often born in Spain, and in contact with fellow extremists mostly online.
“Firstly, radicals are younger people,” wrote Alvaro Vicente, an analyst from the Elcano Royal Institute think tank. “Under-18s are the only demographic group that has increased among jihadist militants in the last decade,” he added.
“Secondly, virtual spaces have been established where (radicalization) takes place,” Vicente said.
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