Spain: Majority of Jihadist Suspects Arrested in 2020 Were Moroccan Nationals

Among the 13 others, six were of Spanish nationality, four of Algerian nationality, two of Syrian nationality and one of Egyptian nationality, according to the Europa Press agency. Four of the 37 detainees "were without documentation entitling them to presence in the Schengen area".

The far-right party Vox, which tends to associate irregular immigration with the terrorist threat, had addressed a question to the government about an anti-terrorist operation, which had resulted in the arrest of three people in Barcelona on January 8. In response, the executive "succinctly" stated that they were Algerians, while Vox was referring to other nationalities, the same source reports, adding that one of the detainees had returned from the Syrian-Iraqi conflict zone on the eve of Christmas.

In Spain, the data from the Ministry of the Interior indicate that the security forces have managed to arrest 412 people as part of 230 operations since 2012.