Europe faces renewed Islamist terror threat as arrests mount

Europe is confronting a persistent Islamist terrorism threat as arrests, convictions and intelligence warnings pile up across several countries, with Spain emerging as one of the continent’s biggest counterterrorism hotspots.

Spain recorded 117 arrests for jihadist terrorism-related offences in 2025, the highest figure among European Union countries, according to a July Europol report. The issue has gained renewed attention following the extraordinary arrival of tens of thousands of Moroccan migrants in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta last month.

Spanish media reported that around a dozen people among those arriving had previously been deported from Spain over suspected terrorism-related concerns. However, Spain’s Interior Ministry has not confirmed those reports, saying there was no evidence that the arrivals posed a threat to public security.

The Ceuta episode nevertheless highlights the continuing security challenge facing European authorities as they attempt to monitor radicalisation while managing large-scale migration.

Terror arrests across Europe

The concern extends well beyond Spain. Germany’s domestic intelligence assessment estimates that around 28,000 people are part of the country’s Islamist scene, including approximately 9,110 considered oriented towards violence.

Germany has also faced questions over how a young man previously convicted of supporting Islamic State was released before an alleged attack at Berlin’s Pride event last month, in which one woman was killed and almost 30 people were injured.

Austria, Sweden and Britain have likewise reported arrests involving alleged supporters of Islamic State or other Islamist extremist activity.

In Britain, authorities recorded several terrorism convictions during July, while the government says Islamist terrorism remains the country’s primary domestic security threat, accounting for roughly three-quarters of Security Service counterterrorism casework.

Europe has learned — but the threat remains

Counterterrorism specialists say European security services have become considerably better at identifying and disrupting Islamist networks since the wave of Islamic State attacks and radicalisation that shook the continent over the past decade.

But the threat has not disappeared.

Experts point to online radicalisation, extremist propaganda, foreign funding and ideological networks as continuing problems, while authorities also face the difficult task of distinguishing genuine terrorist threats from individuals suffering from other forms of instability.

The result is a familiar European dilemma: security agencies are becoming more effective at detecting potential extremists, yet the number of investigations and arrests demonstrates that Islamist radicalisation remains a significant problem.

The latest arrests across Europe suggest that, despite years of counterterrorism operations, the continent has not yet solved the problem of Islamist extremism.

SOURCE

What a mess.

Often brainwashed in Salafi mosques funded by Saudi Arabia....

And we let more in daily, madness….

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

What a mess.

Of their own making, sadly. Not likely to go away anytime soon.

250 invaders arrived yesterday across the channel to the UK with more crossing today. Numbers are down for the last few day's only because of windy conditions in the Channel. Sources reported the French Police stood and watched them leave the French Coast showing no attempt to stop them.

Okay, we already know that Spain is on the frontline of migration. Its decision to normalise illegals immigrants within the country was a rational decision and provides much needed labour. So far, there do not seem to be problems with immigrants not integrating as can be seen in other Euro countries. 

IMV, when you make people feel generally welcome and not begrudge their presence as a burden on the host’s population, it comes back to you with friendship and integration.

However, obviously some extremists are trying to disappear among these immigrants, perhaps even using Spain as a base for attacks in other countries or on Spain itself.

What is not detailed in this article is what nationalities these 117 jihadists are. It seems like Spain’s counterterrorism efforts are actually effective. 

These extremists must be separated from grooming other prisoners, perhaps even in a dedicated facility as there are sure to be more of their ilk. I doubt long sentences will deter fanatics but lock ‘em up until they’re too old to blow themselves up.

Note the term used here: public security. Its  definition is immediately clear. That has a far different ring to it than ‘national security’ for which there is no definition and no purpose.

On to Germany. If 9,110 immigrants (legal or illegal) are “oriented toward violence” (religious violence not specified), these must be removed from the community before extremism spreads like cancer. 

Arrest first and then allow human rights appeals. Better to be proactive. This, of course, runs the risk of inflaming the other 20,000. But not if they want to remain in Germany. Troublemakers out. TBH, this does not sound like a big number for a country with 83.5M Germans.

Although I am strongly against censorship, I believe that the online propaganda that teaches violence must be blocked. If nations can block kiddie porn, they can block extremist websites.

One OP here mentioned that terrorism is taught “in Salafi mosques funded by Saudi Arabia (our friend & ally). Perhaps. But I am sure there are those in the immigrant community who would report any mullah who espouses jihad. Kick ‘em out.

For those who read my posts on Israel, I don’t condone terrorists…from anywhere.