Disbanded the terrorist cell, what unknowns do you have left to solve the investigation?

The jihadist cell that perpetrated the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils has been disarticulated: "the twelve people are either dead or detained," said the chief of the Mossos d'Esquadra, Josep Lluís Trapo, on Monday, shortly after the agents killed the most wanted man in Catalonia, Younes Abouyaaqoub, who was the material author of the attack on the Rambla. But then Trapero added, "which does not exclude that there may be relationships that can be investigated in the future."

The 15 victims of the attack were identified, with eight terrorists killed, several arrests in Morocco in connection with the attacks and two detainees in prison-Driss Oukabir and Mohamed Houli-and the investigation is entering a second phase that will have to clarify, among others, several of the following unknowns.

Who was the ideologist of the attacks?

The first lines of research point to Imam Abdelbaki es Satty as the man who indoctrinated a group of young people, including several couples of brothers, from the town of Ripoll. Some media have reported that it had been gathering the cell for nearly a year, half a year with the preparations for the attacks and two months since June in Alcanar manufacturing the explosives. However, I would have to know if es Satty was following orders from someone superior.

It is believed that the magnet was singing because it was the oldest adult, 45 years old, as the rest of the terrorists were between 17 and 24 years of age. Investigations must necessarily be carried out in Catalonia, but without ruling out the links that agents may find with Belgium, where es Satty spent three months and whose authorities asked Spanish women about their background when they suspected their intentions to work as a magnet. With France, where radars photographed on August 12 one of the vehicles used by the terrorists, the Audi A3, which overturned Cambrils. In fact, the French Minister of the Interior confirmed this Tuesday that the terrorist group was in Paris. "this group came to work in Paris, but they returned quickly," he said without further explanation. Or even Morocco, where one of the detainees, Driss Oukabir, had recently travelled. And where there have already been several arrests for their relationship with members of the jihadist cell in Catalonia.

What was your way of financing?

The preparation of the attack on an illegally occupied house, taking advantage of the fact that it was unoccupied and that it belonged to a bank, indicates that the cell wanted to go unnoticed and save money. In addition, they used 'low cost' companies to rent the vehicles used. According to various media outlets, at around 50 / 60 euros a day each of the three vans. And low-cost elements, acetone or butane chocolates, to prepare explosives. The group had, however, several safe flats in Ripoll and another farmhouse near Cambrils where they were preparing for the attack. It remains to be known whether they paid these expenses on their own salaries or received any funding from national or foreign extremists.

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Did they have international connections?

Mossos chief Josep Lluís Trapo rejected on Monday any questions from journalists about the alleged international connections of the jihadist cell. In recent days it has been leaked that the Spanish police have asked their counterparts in France, Belgium or Morocco for information about movements of those now killed or detained. The crossing of information, the nine house or vehicle searches and, above all, the testimony of the detainees should help to clarify whether or not there is an international plot of the Catalan jihadist cell. In this regard, one of the most relevant testimonies will be that of Mohamed Houli Chemlal, the man injured in the Alcanar explosion when he manipulated the chemical elements for the preparation of explosives.

What was the original plan of the terrorists?

It is known that the explosion in Alcanar last Wednesday, in which two terrorists were killed and one more injured, precipitated plans to attack the terrorist cell. The original plans remain unknown, although sources of the research have leaked to the media that their claim was to fill a truck with explosives and place it in some or some iconic monuments of Barcelona some day in late August. The lack of a high-tonnage truck driver's license thwarted that idea. That's why they had to rent three vans. Once again, the testimony of the detainees will be key to finding out strategies about the gestation of the group (how did a magnet manage to turn some children integrated into terrorists?) And the change of plans they faced in the hours after the Alcanar explosion.

Did Abouyaqoub have accomplices in his escape?

The question that many people ask is how Younes Abouyaqoub, the most wanted man in Catalonia, arrived to Subirats, the Penedés area, in the province of Barcelona without being detected in three days. The public vanguard who did it walking, at night, who had changed his clothes but was dirty and looked like a hermit. More questions: did he expect someone to come out to help him? There are neighbors who say he was discovered whistling at a house where a Maghreb family resided a year ago. Did he have a hideout for the knives and the fake explosive belt he was carrying at the time of his death? Each question opens new questions...

The jihadist cell in Ripoll and Alcanar may be disjointed, but the investigation that will help improve the prevention of possible future attempts at attack is far from over.