Spanish police learnt lessons from long war with Basque separatists of Eta

The speed with which Spanish police dealt with a terrorist cell preparing a gas canister attack in Barcelona shows how a strategy from another bloody conflict has paid off.

Spain’s security services learnt during a 40-year war with the Basque separatists of Eta to disable threats before they become active.

That conflict, which claimed more than 800 lives, persuaded police to combat a new enemy — jihadist terrorism — by “taking out” suspects, said a source from the Centre for Intelligence Against Terrorism and Organised Crime (Citco), which assesses strategic threats.

The four suspects who were shot by police in Cambrils are believed to have been on the radar of anti-terrorist forces.

Intelligence on suspects is shared by Spain’s two main forces, the Guardia Civil…

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Source: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/barcelona-terror-attack-spanish-police-learnt-lessons-from-long-war-with-basque-separatists-of-eta-zwgkj7sr2