Rabat – A 33-year-old Moroccan man linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been arrested in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on the suspicion of planning to carry out a terrorist attack in Spain, said the Spanish Ministry of Interior in a communiqué on Tuesday.
The detainee, who is an undocumented immigrant in Spain, constituted a potential threat to national security following his declaration on social media to carry out a “violent jihad” of severe repercussions in the country, according to the source.
The ministry noted that the detainee had been supporting the violence that carried out by the terrorist organization ISIS.
He had been under surveillance of Spanish authorities since 2012 following a significant increase in radicalized behavior over a short period time, according to the ministry, which said that his case was considered as a “potential danger.”
The ongoing investigation revealed that the detainee had been carrying out extensive activities on social media platforms, posting jihadist content demonstrating support of ISIS, the ministry continued.
The detainee had also been sharing violent videos “glorifying martyrdom,” the ministry said. “He openly approved the committing of terrorist acts and even posed next to his wife and young child in clothes with the organization’s emblems whilst carrying knives.”
According to the communiqué, Spanish Security Forces and Security Corps have arrested 188 terrorists linked to ISIS since the country raised the national anti-terror threat level to four in 2015 following deadly terrorist attacks in Europe.
