Imam, suspected mastermind of Spain terror attacks, reportedly died in bomb factory explosion

Talk about poetic justice, if a Muslim cleric who plotted to blow up a cathedral was blown up by bombs he was making for the attack.

Suspected Mastermind of Catalonia Attacks Allegedly Killed in Alcanar Blast

15:05 - August 21, 2017 (updated 15:57)

Sputnik

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to El Periodico daily citing Josep Lluis Trapero, chief of Catalonia’s police force (Mossos d'Esquadra), the remains of [Moroccan] Abdelbaki es-Sati were found in the debris of the Alcanar blast.  

Es-Sati, an imam in the Spanish city of Ripoll, was the suspected mastermind of the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils.

The terrorist cell, which included 12 people, prepared explosives in a house in Alcanar town 120 miles south of Barcelona, using gas canisters and explosive material known as the "Mother of Satan," El Confidencial online media outlet reported on Saturday. But the gas cylinders accidentally detonated, destroying the house and killing two people the night before the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, which made the terrorists change their plan for the attack [reportedly the Sagrada Familia cathedral].

Abdelbaki es-Sati was reportedly detained several times before by police.

In particular Es Satty was detained in 2010 in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the north coast of Africa, for attempting to smuggle 12 kilograms (26 pounds) of hashish, the El Pais newspaper reported.

On Saturday, the country's authorities raided the house of es-Sati.

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See also:


Barcelona Attack Driver Still at Large, Identity Confirmed; VOA, August 21, 2017

Spain attacks: The imam who 'ate up the brains' of youths; AFP, August 20, 2017

Catalonia Attacks Suspect Organizer Es-Sati Spent 3 Months in Belgium; Sputnik, August 20, 2017.

Car Rams Into Group of People in South Belgium Leaving 4 Injured - Reports; Sputnik, August 20, 2017 

Barcelona Investigators Focusing Increasingly on North African Links; VOA, August 19, 2017

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