International

Spain's Africa Holdings Fuel Terrorist Fears

By Jerome Socolovsky

Published April 26, 2007 at 3:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

The Spanish territories of Melilla and Ceuta are the only remaining European territories in mainland Africa. Al-Qaida sees them as occupied Muslim territory and has declared a jihad on Spain.

Spanish authorities, traumatized by the 2004 Madrid train bombings, are on high alert for another terrorist attack.

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Jerome Socolovsky

Jerome Socolovsky is the Audio Storytelling Specialist for NPR Training. He has been a reporter and editor for more than two decades, mostly overseas. Socolovsky filed stories for NPR on bullfighting, bullet trains, the Madrid bombings and much more from Spain between 2002 and 2010. He has also been a foreign and international justice correspondent for The Associated Press, religion reporter for the Voice of America and editor-in-chief of Religion News Service. He won the Religion News Association's TV reporting award in 2013 and 2014 and an honorable mention from the Association of International Broadcasters in 2011. Socolovsky speaks five languages in addition to his native Spanish and English. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and graduate degrees from Hebrew University and the Harvard Kennedy School. He's also a sculler and a home DIY nut.