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On 26 March 2023, reports emerged of a year-long joint intelligence operation conducted by Spain's Ministry of Interior's Civil Guard and the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO). Investigations recently led to the arrest of a 41-year-old man engaged in the manufacturing of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) as well as the discovery and seizure of 468kg (over 1,000 lbs.) of bomb-making material contained inside a clandestine laboratory where the suspect operated, in Berguedà, Montmajor municipality, in the area of Bages, north of Barcelona, Spain.
An alert was triggered after suspicious transactions of large purchases were made by the suspect of chemical precursors, fuses, electrical equipment, and numerous laboratory materials through a trading platform. After searching the cited illegal IED farmhouse, the law enforcement agents found such chemicals, a fuse, and 2.2 kilos of explosive mixture already finished.
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Local law enforcement revealed that the material found in the IED farmhouse was intended for the manufacturing of what is being called the 'Mother of Satan' bomb, or triacetone triperoxide (TATP), which is a a highly destructive Improvised Explosive Device (IED). This type of explosive is normally used by the Islamic State (IS) in their large-scale attacks and given the specificity of the items found, TRAC posits it is highly likely that Emni (Islamic State’s External Operations Branch) is behind the operation.
It should be noted that TATP was also found in a house used by the attackers responsible for the 2017 twin assaults in Barcelona and Cambrils, Spain.
Although the identity of the man arrested on 26 March was not disclosed, TRAC suspects, given the number of recent arrests, that the bomb maker is likely a Moroccan national residing in Spain. It is also worth noting that in January 2023, a police operation conducted in collaboration with the FBI led to the arrest of an Islamic State (IS) supporter of Moroccan origin who plotted to carry out a shooting attack on British tourists on Benidorm’s beaches and also sought online information on how to fabricate the 'Mother of Satan' IED.
Morocco has become a strategic African region for the Sahel-expanding Islamic State militant group, which has chosen the North African country as its gateway to Europe. Islamic State Greater Sahara (ISGS) recently circulated a video on social networks criticizing coalition forces, stating that they failed their mission to end Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and now have to fight Islamic State in the Sahel too. Islamic State threatens further expansion in the African deserts and states that this will be followed by expansion into Córdoba and Seville, Spain, then expansion into Rome and its neighboring countries.
TRAC does not rule out that the Islamic State has been plotting large-scale attacks on the European western communities from the double front of Sahel and Syria. On 17 March 2023, a security alert was issued by the Austrian authorities, in connection with a planned attack in Vienna by a Syrian Islamic State (IS) cell.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Pirates Board Liberian-Flagged, Danish-Owned Oil and Chemical Tanker in the Gulf of Guinea,140 Nautical Miles West of Port Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo
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Overnight between 25 March and 26 March 2023, between three and five armed pirates boarded an oil and gas tanker sitting idle about 140 nautical miles west of the Republic of the Congo’s Port Pointe Noire in the Gulf of Guinea, from which it had departed. The pirates were purportedly attempting to hijack the vessel, operated by Dubai-based Montec Ship Management, which is owned by Monjasa, a Danish shipping company.
The Gulf of Guinea, described by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) as one of the world’s most dangerous shipping routes, covers 11,000 square kilometers (4,247 sq miles) and stretches from Angola to Senegal.
Denmark is known for its commercial shipping and in 2021 it deployed a frigate to the Gulf of Guinea to aide in the fight against piracy and to secure the area. However, the frigate was pulled back last year after the outbreak of the Ukraine war and this highlights the global impact of a war that seems irrelevant to piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Indeed, the instability in a single country can have mass knock-on effects. In November 2021, a Danish naval patrol killed four pirates in an exchange of fire just outside Nigeria’s territorial waters.
All communications on the vessel have been disconnected since 26 March 2023 and there have been no ransom demands. The crew of 16 are said to be holed up in a safe room aboard the ship, but they are essentially hostages because there is no escape for them without getting killed if they leave the room. The safe room will likely only have a small supply of water and food and eventually the crew will have to make a decision about whether to stay inside or risk going out. Several navies are working with the owner of the ship to secure their release. Maritime shipping companies certainly have the capabilities to pay a hefty ransom.
The fact that the vessel was flying the Liberian flag also complicates matters since the flags that vessels fly are often used to hide the true origins and nature of the contents of ships. Whether it truly came from Liberia remains in doubt. The name of the ship is deliberately being withheld for the safety of the crew, according to the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG). The nationalities of the crew are also unknown at this time. It is unclear if the pirates targeted the ship for ransom demands for both the cargo and the hostages -or- if the pirates had merely wanted to steal the valuable cargo inside.
This would be the first confirmed boarding and hijacking in four months in the Gulf of Guinea.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Two Portuguese Women Stabbed to Death by Lone Wolf Attacker at the Shia Ismaili Centre, on Avenida Lusíada, Lisbon, Portugal
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Law enforcement officers outside the Shia Ismaili Centre after the attack. | |
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On 28 March 2023, at about 11:00 am local time, a knife wielding lone wolf attacker stabbed two Portuguese women to death at the Shia Ismaili Centre, on Avenida Lusíada, Lisbon, Portugal. The attacker was identified as an Afghan national.
While there are not many details yet about this specific attack, this is the ninth knife attack in the last three months in Europe. Given the target (Shia) and tactic (knife attack), TRAC posits the possibility that the attacker has ties to Islamic State.
It is worth mentioning that this attack was celebrated by Islamic State. It is not unusual for the Islamic State to celebrate this type of incident as they often celebrate every type of unfortunate event, including natural disasters, in Western countries. That said, to have so many lone wolves activate within the same time period is highly unusual and is reminiscent of the Islamic State height of lone wolf attacks in Europe during 2016. Although the majority of lone wolf attacks in 2016 were self-inspired, one cannot rule out the possibility of Islamic State’s External Operations branch, better known as the Emni, being behind this spate of seemingly unrelated incidents being coordinated.
It is also worth noting that three of the nine stabbings over the past months in the EU occurred at train stations. Islamic State Central Command never claims attacks from lone wolf assailants if the suspect is in custody; therefore, any neutralized attacker may still be a possible 'claimed' attack.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Suspected Islamic State Kavkaz/Qawqaz (ISKQ) Armed Assault Targeting a Police Station in Kantyshevo Village, Ingushetia, North Caucasus, Russia
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On 27 March 2023, suspected Islamic State Kavkaz/Qawqaz (ISKQ) militants carried out an armed assault using machine guns targeting a Russian police station in Kantyshevo Village, Ingushetia, Caucasus, Russia. There were no reports of casualties or injuries during the assault.
Given the fact that the incident was first and foremost reported in IS-affiliated Telegram channels, TRAC believes that IS militants were involved in the assault.
Despite a defeat, the Islamic State remains unbroken and bellicose, especially in the Russian Federation. The FSB often conducts counter-terrorism operations, revealing new recruits and IS supporters around the state. Islamic State’s Wilayat Kavkaz has targeted Russian police on multiple occasions, especially in 2017, but the last IS-associated incident recorded in Ingushetia happened two years ago.
Islamic State’s Wilayat Kavkaz is made up of 4 parts, Chechnya being one of them. Chechnya long fought for independence from Russia until former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov switched sides in the Second Chechen War and offered his loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2003.
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TRAC Incident Report: Islamic State Khurasan (ISK) Suicide Bombing at Dawoodzai Business Center Near Taliban (IEA) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building in Kabul, Afghanistan | |
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TRAC Incident Report:
al-Shabaab Armed Assault on Army Base Reportedly Kills 28 and Wounds 19 in Dar al-Nama, Middle Shabelle, Somalia
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TRAC Incident Report: Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) Eliminated "Informant of Pakistani Military" Noor Mohammad in Yosuf Goth, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan | | | | |
