A jihadist cell that killed 16 people in a double attack in Catalonia earlier this month managed to evade controls specifically intended to detect potential threats, Spain’s interior minister said on Monday, promising to review procedures.
Spanish authorities say the Islamic State-inspired group spent months plotting their attack in a town south of the Catalan capital Barcelona, where on Aug. 17 one member mowed down crowds along the city’s most famous avenue.
Reuters reported last week that Spanish police may have missed an opportunity to uncover the cell’s plot by not raising the alarm after a massive blast on Aug. 16 at the house where they were preparing explosives for a larger attack.
Police believe the cell accidentally ignited the explosives, triggering a blast that destroyed the house in the town of Alcanar, killing two of its members, including an imam suspected of radicalism the others.
The remaining attackers then decided to use hired vans for the assault in Barcelona and another hours later in the resort town of Cambrils.
Asked whether authorities should have noticed suspicious activity at the Alcanar house, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said the cell had dodged some controls on acquiring potential bomb-making material, including 120 gas cannisters.
“It’s true that these controls exist. It’s possible some checks weren’t made in this case and we will have to determine how we can avoid this happening again,” he told Spanish radio.
