Ripoll, the Catalan home of terrorist cell in shock

As the investigation into the terrorist attacks that hit Barcelona and Cambrils last week goes on, the focus has shifted to include a third Catalan town, Ripoll, where most of the members of the jihadist group behind the attacks grew up. It is also the place, say the local Muslim community, where the men became radicalized by a newly arrived imam, Abdelbaki Es Satty.

Located in the foothills of the Pyrenees, not far from the French border, Ripoll is an unlikely nursery for a jihadist cell that killed 15 and injured more than a hundred in Spain’s worst terrorist attack since 2004. With only 11,000 inhabitants, the town’s mayor claims that almost everybody knows each other. Hence the sense of shock and bewilderment at the police raids and international media attention that has followed the attacks.

“The youngsters that did this were very assimilated within the town and showed no signs they were becoming radicalized,” said Núria Perpinyà, a social worker at the  local council. “They were integrated and had Catalan friends; indeed, they were Catalan and spoke excellent Catalan.”