1. France tightens security ahead of Olympics 

A joint operation by the Guardia Civil, Europol and the FBI has managed to dismantle the I’lam Foundation, the largest online structure for disseminating jihadist propaganda. Nine radicalised individuals in Spain – Cadiz, Almeria and Girona – were arrested by the Guardia Civil, according to Europol. Two of them have already been remanded in custody.  

The operation has also involved the collaboration of the European Union Agency for Criminal Judicial Cooperation (Eurojust), as well as the authorities of the Netherlands, Germany, France, Estonia, Romania and Iceland. 

The I’lam Foundation had the capacity to provide access to jihadist content in a wide variety of languages, which allowed it to spread Daesh slogans and guidelines globally. Likewise, according to El Confidencial, this platform had ‘radio stations, news agencies, audiovisual production companies and profiles on social networks’. 

Among the materials seized in the police operation, content was found that encouraged attacks against the Real Madrid bus and its fans. “My dear brother. Wait in a place near the arrival point of the players. Aim at them and their supporters,” says a poster showing a man firing a rifle with a telescopic sight at the Real Madrid bus, according to the Spanish newspaper.  

Content urging attacks on the Santiago Bernabeu was also found, as well as matches of the European Championship currently being held in Germany or this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.  

“Score the last goal!”, says a slogan of the terrorist organisation, suggesting to attack three of the venues where the sporting competition is taking place: Berlin, Munich or Dortmund.  

Aware of this serious threat, Germany has stepped up security measures to deal with “all imaginable dangers”. In particular, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser mentioned terrorism, hooliganism and cyber-attacks, assuring that cooperation is working “very well” at federal and state level. 

“There will be a strong police presence wherever there are large numbers of people. This will be an important effort for the state police and the federal police, but it is also crucial for the competition,” Faeser said ahead of the start of the European Championship.   

Despite the heavy security measures, the first incidents during the tournament have already been reported. In Hamburg, police shot at a man who threatened with a pickaxe and a Molotov cocktail hours before the start of the match between Poland and the Netherlands. 

France tightens security ahead of Olympics 

Regarding the Olympics in France, Daesh announced the start of the “Olympics of the lone wolves with the will of Allah” with an image of the Eiffel Tower with a drone carrying, quote, “a gift” in the form of a bomb.  

Last month, French authorities arrested a Russian-born Chechen national suspected of being behind a plot to attack spectators and police at football matches in Saint-Etienne and die a martyr’s death, AP reported. Another man with similar motives was also arrested in April.  

France has been preparing for this sporting event for months by reinforcing security measures through massive police deployments and exhaustive controls. 

In this sense, the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, announced that the anti-terrorist protection perimeter will be extended to all buildings overlooking the Seine River during the opening of the Olympic Games on 26 July.   

The French national police have even carried out a simulation of a terrorist attack with their Spanish counterparts with the aim of reinforcing and improving all the necessary response mechanisms in the event of this type of incident.