A Moroccan man said to have been planning to machine gun tourists on a Benidorm beach has been arrested in Spain in an operation involving the FBI.
The 26-year-old, described by police as being in an ‘advanced state of jihadist radicalisation’, was held in the Catalan city of Girona.
A judge who remanded him in prison yesterday pending an ongoing investigation said in his jail ruling the terror suspect had expressed an interest in acquiring weapons to carry out a potential attack on beaches in the famous Costa Blanca resort loved by British tourists.
Local reports said he had been planning to film the machine gun attack and post it on social media networks run by ISIS, which is better known in Spain as Daesh.
He is also said to have been seeking information on the Dark Web about the components needed to make TATP, a peroxide-based explosive known as Mother of Satan found in the ruins of a bomb factory used by the terrorists behind the murderous attacks in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas and nearby Cambrils in August 2018.
Spanish Interior Ministry sources also said the suspect, named locally as Fath Allah Benhachem Grarrass, had regularly viewed videos of Islamic extremist attacks in Europe, including a stabbing on a train he watched 18 times to allegedly ‘improve his technique.’
He was arrested two hours before another Moroccan injured a priest and killed a church sexton in Algeciras on Wednesday evening after attacking them with a machete.
Police only went with the new detention early today following his remand in prison.
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police, revealing the FBI had played a vital role in identifying the suspect and they had worked in conjunction with the Civil Guard in making the arrest, said: ‘An individual of Moroccan origin with Spanish nationality has been arrested in Girona for his alleged links to terrorist crimes.
‘He was in an advanced stage of jihadist radicalisation and had a very violent and aggressive profile.
‘He maintained active profiles on different social media platforms and used the Dark Web to advance his terrorist plans.
‘He also used internet to show his support for Daesh and to obtain self-teach manuals about the use of weapons and explosives and to acquire weapons.
‘Investigators also confirmed he viewed Islamic extremist attacks in Europe.
‘The same day of his arrest he carried out online searches on how to carry out stabbings and other attacks with bladed weapons.
‘International cooperation has been essential in this investigation with the FBI playing a vital role in identifying and neutralising this suspected terrorist.’