The Islamic State terrorist organisation has a dedicated group that is planning attacks in the Al Andalus territory, specifically in Spain although Portugal is in the targeted area.
A statement posted on the Internet by the Islamic State in August 2015 showed the Iberian territory that the terrorist group wants to see occupied as a caliphate by 2020. (see below)
The Iberian Peninsula, or ‘Al Andalus’, was defined on a widely circulated map and all has been quiet until today when the Islamic State is revealed to have a specific group whose task is to prepare and carry out attacks.
The news was released yesterday by the Spanish newspaper ABC and is based on information allegedly from Spanish secret services. This is, according to the same source, one of the reasons for Spain being on a Level 4 terrorist alert, 5 being the most severe.
The 'Al Andalus' group is part of the Islamic State structure which is responsible for the attacks in Paris which left 130 dead, the attack in Brussels which killed 32 people and also in Istanbul, Dhaka and Baghdad where last week almost 200 died.
Spain last was attacked in 2004 when Al Qaeda killed 191 people by detonating a bomb on a Madrid train.
The Spanish intelligence services have analysed Islamic State propaganda and conclude that the main targets are France, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain.
But Al Andalus is not only Spain, it includes Portugal which has enhanced security but, like Spain, is not on full alert.
In May this year the District Commander of the Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) in Faro, Ricardo Abreu Matos, said that there is no known immediate terrorist threat to the Algarve, that analysis is ongoing and that his team is on the lookout.
Faro airport is the main security concern in the Algarve with its seven million passengers a year, so police at the airport, other security staff and transport and car rental teams have all been briefed on terrorism issues.
Portugal's Public Security Police commander in Faro said his officers at the airport have been "addressing the main ideologies associated with terrorism and terrorist attacks and have emphasised the importance of communication and information sharing between the various partners in the airport’s community."
“People are aware of the risks, we have excellent relations with the other security forces and services who work in the Algarve," Said Abreu Matos, adding that the PSP "does not underestimate any threat. All threats are considered and analysed and measures taken."
