Most Wanted ISIS Terrorist Arrested In Spain
Spanish police and security agents have arrested Europe’s most-wanted IS terrorists including a former British rapper, Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, in an international counter-terrorism operation on Tuesday in the southern city of Almeria.
It is believed Britain´s MI6 was involved in his tracking and capture.
Local media report three people were arrested in the flat after the authorities caught them in their sleep.
The main suspect, who has not been named in reports, is reportedly one of the most-wanted terrorists in Europe because of his criminal record in the ranks of IS.
The Egyptian national reportedly spent several years in the Syrian-Iraqi conflict zone and is said to have an extremely violent criminal history which caught the attention of European intelligence services and authorities.
Reports state part of his work in IS has been published in audiovisual and written media, showing different aspects of his activity within the terrorist organisation and graphic images of his crimes in the conflict zone.
The operation was carried out by agents from the General Commissariat of Information, the intelligence corps within Spain’s National Police, along with investigators from the National Intelligence Centre in Spain and local investigators.
Reports state the investigation involved international cooperation, including from Britain’s MI6, when intelligence pointed to the suspect, who has not been named in reports, wanting to return to Europe through Spain. MI6 were reportedly monitoring the suspect’s movement but their exact involvement in the operation is unclear.
Investigators found he had arrived to the coast of Almeria via north Africa and they then managed to locate the flat where he was living with two others.
In the video, heavily armed police in full riot geat can be seen walking down a street at night before they walk into a building. Three suspects are then taken out of the building with their heads covered and walked to waiting police cars.
The trio reportedly used tight security measures and adapted their behaviour to comply with the coronavirus lockdown in Spain, according to reports.
The investigation is ongoing and the authorities are working to determine the identities of the other two suspects and to see if they were other fighters who had returned from the conflict zone or if they were involved in helping terrorists return to Europe.