Image copyright AFP Image caption Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wishes to rebury Franco's remains

A man has been arrested in north-eastern Spain on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The suspect, known as a crack shot, had an arsenal of weapons at his home in Terrassa, Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra police force announced.

Local media said the man, 63, wanted to take revenge for Mr Sánchez's plans to exhume the remains of Francisco Franco.

The fascist leader's mausoleum is revered by the Spanish far right.

Sixteen unlicensed firearms, including a pistol, were found in the suspect's home.

Named only as Manuel M, the suspect is said to have told friends on Whatsapp he was going to kill Mr Sánchez, who became prime minister in June.

He is said to be a far-right extremist with a history of mental problems. </s> Spanish police have detained a 63-year-old man in the northeastern Catalonia region who "wanted to kill" Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, authorities said on Thursday.

The man had an "arsenal of weapons" at his home in the town of Terrassa, Catalan police said on Twitter, including more than a dozen firearms, sniper rifles and a submachine gun.

According to local media, the man had threatened to assassinate the prime minister on social media, vowing to take revenge for the government's controversial plan to exhume the late Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

The arrest took place in September but was first reported Thursday by Spain's Publico newspaper. The suspect, a former private security guard, remains in custody but has not been charged.

"This person had a clear intention and will to take actions against the prime minister and he was only lacking logistical support," Catalan regional police spokesman Albert Oliva told journalists.

Spain's government said in a statement that the prime minister's security had "never been compromised," and that the assassination plan was an "isolated incident."

Since coming to power in June, Sanchez has made it a government priority to relocate Franco's remains from a huge mausoleum at the Valley of the Fallen memorial site where he was laid to rest after his death in 1975. The prime minister wants to move the embalmed corpse to a more discreet site where it will be harder for the dictator's followers to pay tribute.

Every day, DW editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> An expert marksman has been arrested on suspicion of planning a "lone wolf" attack to assassinate Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The 63-year-old suspect, named locally as Manuel Murillo Sanchez, was found with an arsenal of weapons, including sniper-style rifles and a submachine gun, at his home.

The private security guard, who has extensive experience with long-range guns, is said to have "spoken of his intention to attack Pedro Sanchez in WhatsApp groups".

A spokesman for Mossos d’Esquadra police, near Barcelona, said: "We are not confirming the name but we can confirm a 63-year-old man has been arrested in Terrassa.

"He has experience as a sports-orientated marksman with long-range long-barrelled guns.

"He had spoken of his intention to attack Pedro Sanchez in WhatsApp groups.

"An arsenal of weapons, consisting of 16 long-barrelled weapons and 16 shotguns, was found at his home.

"He has been sent to prison following a court appearance."

Another police source told Spanish daily Publico, which broke news of the arrest: "He was the perfect lone wolf, a nobody with a gun licence whose expertise marksmanship didn’t arouse any suspicion, in the same way he didn’t arouse suspicion by carrying a pistol because he needed it for his work."

The detainee is said to have decided to target the Spanish PM after his government approved a decree in August allowing dictator Francisco Franco to be exhumed from the Valley of the Fallen mausoleum near Madrid, and given to his family to be buried elsewhere.

The suspect reportedly asked contacts in a small WhatsApp group he was part of for help obtaining information on the Spanish PM’s agenda so he knew where he would be at any given time.

He is said to have told the group: "I am ready to sacrifice myself for Spain."

He is being held at a prison in Martorell near Barcelona. </s> Catalan regional security forces early Tuesday launched an anti-terror operation against suspected members of a terror cell that was allegedly preparing a series of attacks and arrested one person, according to sources close to the investigation.

Catalonia's regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, was expecting to make additional arrests as part of the ongoing operation taking place in the cities of Barcelona and Igualada on court orders. </s> Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email

Spanish police have arrested a man after he attempted to enter a popular tourist landmark with a suitcase filled with ammunition.

The major security alert took place Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica earlier on Sunday.

The incident comes just days after police stepped up security in the city amidst fears that a Christmas attack was being planned.

The Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested a French citizen as he tried to enter the temple with five magazines for a nine-millimetre gun in a suitcase or backpack.

Security officers stopped him as he went through metal detectors. It is understood no gun was found though there are reports a weapon was discovered in a nearby car.

(Image: REUTERS)

The man is claiming he was invited to a private mass after going out for shooting practice and had "forgotten" he was still carrying ammunition.

He says he is a French soldier but this has yet to be verified.

Officers with the Catalan police have arrested him for illegal possession of arms.

Spanish newspapers say the ammunition was detected inside a suitcase when the detainee crossed the security arch that protects the monument.

The Mossos d'Esquadra have initiated an investigation to clarify the facts. Police sources say the detainee is collaborating and that they do not believe that he intended to carry out an attack on the Sagrada Familia

This incident comes after the Catalan police reinforced surveillance and spot checks in crowded areas of Barcelona for fear of a possible terrorist threat during the Christmas holidays.

The security forces maintain the anti-terrorist alert at level 4 out of 5. </s> Spanish police launched a counter-terrorism operation in Barcelona and a nearby city against on Tuesday against a cell suspected of plotting an attack, a police spokesman said.

Two people had been arrested in Barcelona and Igualada, 60 kilometres (40 miles) west of the Catalan capital, as part of the raid, the spokesman for Catalonia's police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, told AFP. Further arrests were expected, he added.

"The goal (of the cell) was to attack but we are still investigating which places may have been targeted," the spokesman said.

Over 100 officers were taking part in the "counter-terrorism operation" launched by the Catalan police force at six am (0500 GMT), the Mossos said on Twitter.

Police stormed five properties in Barcelona and a sixth in Igualada as part of the operation.

Armed officers, wearing black ski masks, stood guard outside a building in central Barcelona as boxes and bags were removed from a flat, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

The operation was ordered by Spain's High Court, which is charged with terrorism investigations, and it is focused on "the crimes of terrorism, public health offences and organised crime", the Mossos said.

Barcelona was on alert last month after the US State Department warned off the risk of a terrorist attack in Spain's second-largest city over Christmas.

On August 17, 2017, a van rammed crowds on Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard, killing 14 people and injuring over 130 others.

The 22-year-old Moroccan driver then stole a car after killing the driver and fled.

Several hours later five of his accomplices mowed down pedestrians on the promenade of the seaside resort of Cambrils, south of Barcelona, before stabbing a woman to death.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, Spain’s deadliest in over a decade. </s> Barcelona — Spanish police mounted a counter-terrorism operation in Barcelona and a nearby city on Tuesday against a cell suspected of plotting an attack, local officials said.

Officers arrested 17 people in Barcelona and Igualada, 60km west of the Catalan capital, as part of the raid, Catalonia’s Mossos d’Esquadra police force said.

The suspects “intended to carry out an attack”, but police work “ensured that at no moment did they have the capacity to carry out these actions”, Catalan interior minister Miquel Buch said.

More than 100 officers were taking part in the “counter-terrorism operation” launched by the Catalan police force at 6am, the Mossos said on Twitter.

One person was arrested in Igualada while the rest were detained in Barcelona.

Police did not give any details on the suspects but Spanish media said they were North Africans.

Armed officers, wearing black ski masks, stood guard outside a building in central Barcelona as boxes and bags were removed from a flat, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

The operation was ordered by Spain’s high court, which is charged with terrorism investigations, and it is focused on “the crimes of terrorism, public health offences and organised crime”, the Mossos said.

Barcelona, Spain’s most visited city, was on alert in December after the US state department warned of the risk of a terrorist attack in Spain’s second-largest city over Christmas.

Spanish media reported at the time that the authorities were looking for a Moroccan man with a licence to drive buses.

The reports said it was not clear if the man was in Spain or not.

On August 17 2017, a van rammed crowds on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas boulevard, killing 14 people and injuring over 130 others. The 22-year-old Moroccan driver then stole a car after killing the driver and fled.

Several hours later five of his accomplices mowed down pedestrians on the promenade of the seaside resort of Cambrils, south of Barcelona, before stabbing a woman to death.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, Spain’s worst since the Madrid train bombings in 2004 when 191 people died and more than 1,800 were injured.

Spain has had its terrorist alert at the second-highest level since 2015. Catalonia has a long history of Islamist militant activity. A member of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group was uncovered in the region in 1995.

Mohamed Atta, who flew a passenger plane into a tower of the World Trade Center on September 11 2001, in New York, spent time in Catalonia shortly before the attacks.

In 2008, a plot targeting Barcelona’s metro system was foiled when it was in its advanced stages.

One in four people detained in Spain over extremist Islamist-linked terrorism come from the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, according to a study published in 2017 by the Real Instituto Elcano, a Spanish think-tank, which called the province the country’s “main centre of jihadist activity”. </s> A man armed with a knife charged an officer at a police station near Barcelona early Monday in an attack that authorities are investigating as a terrorist incident.

The man, identified in Spanish media as Abdelouahab Taib, reportedly approached the station in the town of Cornella de Llobregat at 5:52 a.m. local time and rang the intercom. When an officer opened the door, the man lunged at her with the knife, shouting "Allahu Akbar," according to the BBC.

Police Commissioner Rafel Comes said the man had a "clear intent to kill," according to the BBC. He added, "For now we are treating it as a terrorist attack."

The Spanish government's representative in Catalonia, Teresa Cunillera, said in a radio interview that authorities have not determined a motive for the attack. "Reaching conclusions is very hard before they have carried out the minimum of checks and looked into the motives," she said, according to the BBC.

Police stations across Spain have been put on alert because of Monday's incident, according to Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan police force.

Taib is a 29-year-old Algerian who had been living in Spain for several years with foreign identity documents, according to El Pais.

The attack comes just days after the anniversary of last year's terrorist attacks in Barcelona and the resort town of Cambrils that left 16 people dead and more than 100 others injured.

Police say at this stage there is no evidence linking those attacks with the incident on Monday. </s> The suspect reportedly wanted revenge over a plan to exhume the remains of Spain’s former dictator.

A man has been arrested over an alleged plot to assassinate Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The 63-year-old was arrested at his home near Barcelona after a threat was made on a far-right, nationalist WhatsApp group to shoot Sánchez. The suspect, identified by local media as Manuel Murillo Sanchez, was said by police to be angered over Sánchez’s government’s plan to disinter the remains of former dictator Francisco Franco from a monument to those who died in the Spanish civil war.

 The man was known to police for extreme-right views, mental health issues, and for having an arsenal of firearms and training in their use. Sixteen unlicensed firearms were discovered in the raid on his home, which took place on Sept. 19 but was made public today.

Police became concerned, according to accounts in the Spanish daily newspaper Público, after the 63-year-old moved from making generic political complaints to very specific threats, including asking for other members of the WhatsApp group for logistical aid in targeting the prime minister.

 "I am willing to sacrifice myself for Spain," he reportedly told the group, according to Público. Sánchez, who took office in June, has been at the forefront of a bitter controversy in Spain over the remains of Franco, who ruled Spain as a dictator for nearly 40 years until his death in 1975. Franco’s role and his leadership of the right during the 1935–1937 civil war — which left millions dead, wounded, or homeless — remains a bitter point of contention between Spaniards. The proposal to remove Franco’s body from the Valley of the Fallen, northwest of Madrid, has sparked a controversy between the dictator’s family and the government over where to move it, and whether the new grave should be allowed to become another shrine to the far right.

The plot comes just days after France announced a series of arrests around the country of what prosecutors described as a far-right extremist group planning to assassinate French President Emmanuel Macron. And in August, violent neo-Nazi groups shocked the German city of Chemnitz with a series of protests against Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policies of accepting almost 1 million refugees, mostly from the Middle East, in 2015.

 Private firearms ownership in Spain is limited, with just about 8,000 licenses to carry handguns for personal protection issued, as well as around 3 million firearms legally owned for sporting and target shooting. According to a police press conference, the suspect, who works as a private security guard, had at least one legally registered weapon and is thought to have considerable skill with firearms, including having illegally modified several of the weapons investigators found at the scene.
The Mossos d'Esquadra announces that on September 19, 2018, they arrested a man planning to assassinate the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez.