28 Jan, 2025 @ 13:00
1 min read

Teenage terrorists planned to detonate a ‘mother of Satan bomb’ inside a church in Alicante, say police

POLICE have revealed teenage terrorists were planning to detonate a ‘mother of Satan’ bomb inside an Alicante church.

The pair planned to attack the Santa Maria basilica in Elche on New Year’s Eve. 

They were arrested on December 19 alongside two others by Policia Nacional agents specialised in terrorism. 

According to police statements, the two most radicalised teens caught the attention of agents for having multiple knives and several thousand euros in cash. 

They then discovered the pair had expressed a desire to carry out a terrorist attack and had even been in contact with other jihadists about obtaining or making explosives.

The boys planned to use acetone peroxide, a powerful explosive also known as ‘mother of satan’ and ‘APEX’. 

It has already been used in multiple bombings in Spain, including the Madrid 11M attacks, which killed 200 people.

MEMORIAL: A man lights a candle at the memorial to the victims of Madrid’s 11M attacks
Photo: Cordon Press

Police state the minors were planning ‘something big’, though the other two youngsters were not privy to these plans. 

They were not as radicalised nor violent as the other pair, who are now being held in a Madrid youth detention centre.

The lawyer of one of the boys, Maria Francisca Fernandez Lois, said the only thing against them was the fact they ‘browsed islamic pages.’ 

She also claimed one of them said ‘there were nothing more than demons’ in the basilica but she dismissed this comment as ‘childish’. 

Yzabelle Bostyn

Yzabelle Bostyn is an NCTJ trained journalist who started her journalistic career at the Olive Press in 2023.
Before moving to Spain, she studied for a BA in English Literature and Hispanic Studies at the University of Sheffield.
After graduating she moved to the university’s journalism department, one of the best in the UK.
Throughout the past few years, she has taken on many roles including social media marketing, copywriting and radio presenting.
She then took a year out to travel Latin America, scaling volcanoes in Guatemala and swimming with sharks in Belize.
Then, she came to the Olive Press last year where she has honed her travel writing skills and reported on many fantastic experiences such as the Al Andalus luxury train.
She has also undertaken many investigations, looking into complex issues like Spain’s rental crisis and rising cancer rates.
Always willing to help, she has exposed many frauds and scams, working alongside victims to achieve justice.
She is most proud of her work on Nolotil, a drug linked to the deaths of many Brits in Spain.
A campaign launched by Yzabelle has received considerable support and her coverage has been by the UK and Spanish media alike.
Her writing has featured on many UK news outlets from the Sun to the Mail Online, who contracted her to report for them in Tenerife on growing tourism issues.
Recently, she has appeared on Times Radio covering deadly flooding in Valencia.

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