The Telegraph reports that terrorism experts believe that there is a real threat of another attack on Spain by al-Qaeda. This belief derives from the fact that despite the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, the threat of a new al-Qaeda attack on Spain has not diminished.
“It is one of a number of Western countries that has been singled-out
[by al-Qa'eda], along with the UK, France and the US,” said Fernando
Reinares, a terrorism expert at the Royal Elcano Institute in Madrid.
The Arabic name for Spain is al-Andalus and Osama Bin Laden has repeatedly called on his followers to fight to restore al-Andalus.
Historically, the Moors attempted to take over Spain, but in the end the Moors were overpowered by the Spanish government, and by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. The Moors had presented a serious threat to the stability of Spain, and at one time the Moors were underwritten by Jews who were interested in taking power away from the Christians, this in turn led to the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition, a move that was meant to flush out those Jews who were attempting to gain power in government through false conversions to Christianity.
Osama bin Laden has repeatedly called on followers to fight to restore
al-Andalus, the Arabic name for Spain when it was under Islamic rule
before the Christian reconquest of the 15 century.
In an address last month, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qa’eda’s second in
command, called on followers to “wipe the Maghreb clean of the sons of
France and Spain”.
This cry has been taken up by al-Qa’eda’s north African wing, which has
claimed responsibility for recent bombs in Algeria and Morocco. Since
March 2004 Spanish security services have stepped up surveillance of
Islamist cells operating within Spain.
They say that they have disrupted several large-scale plots, including
one to ram a truck packed with 1,000lb of explosives into Spain’s main
anti-terrorism court.
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