A belt charged with explosives was found in a house where an extremist cell plotted to attack people in Barcelona with bombs, Spanish police said on Wednesday.
The plotters switched to attacking with vehicles rather than bombs when a fatal explosion at the house in Alcanar derailed their original plan.
On Tuesday two people alleged to have been part of the extremist cell were provisionally jailed after a court in Madrid heard that the group had been making bombs for an imam, who was planning a suicide bombing in Barcelona.
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Abdelbaki Es Satty, an imam, was identified as the leader of the cell by the two jailed suspects Mohamed Houli Chemlal, 21, and Driss Oukabir, 28.
It is not known whether the belt found at the house was going to be used by Mr Es Satty, who died along with another cell member during the explosion.
The vehicle attack in Barcelona left 13 people dead and over 100 injured, while the second attack in Cambrils killed one person and left several injured. A 15th victim was stabbed to death by an attacker who fleeing the scene in Barcelona.
One of the jailed survivors, Mr Houli Chemlal is believed to be key in understanding the extent of the plot, according to investigators, as he was the only person to make it out of the blast in Alcanar alive.
Mr Houli Chemlal said he survived because he had been outside the house when the explosion occurred washing the dishes. He was later arrested in hospital.
More than 100 tanks of butane gas, nails to be used as shrapnel and 500 litres of a highly flammable liquid known as acetone were also discovered at the house by the police.
The six attackers who were shot dead by police, which included the five in Cambrils and the driver of the van, Younes Abouyaaqoub, were now known to be wearing fake suicide belts.
Police are also investigating materials found during raids, which took place in northeastern Spain, at a cybercafe in Ripoll and a house in Vilafranca del Penedes.
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
The five pillars of Islam
More from Neighbourhood Watch
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
