Spanish Police Arrest Suspected Moroccan Jihadist in Toledo Province

The defendant, accused of crimes of self-indoctrination, self-training and terrorist propaganda, was arrested in the San Sebastián neighborhood, reports ABC. According to the investigators, the Moroccan would have self-radicalized by following indoctrination videos on the Internet. After his arrest, he was brought before the judge of the central court who ordered his detention.

However, the Moroccan had a normal life. He lived with his wife and two children in Santa Olalla. The latter are enrolled in the city and he himself recently worked at the town hall. The mayor of the city, Pedro Congosto, who knows the family well, is surprised by this arrest. "They had been residing in this city for six years before I became mayor. We had no suspicion," he says.

To read: Spain: Majority of Jihadist Suspects Arrested in 2020 Were Moroccan Nationals

Counterterrorism experts opened an investigation in November after noticing a pro-Daesh individual who was spreading radical and violent jihadist discourse on social networks. In short, he was inciting terrorist attacks. Several of his friends on these networks are also jihadists located in conflict zones, the investigators say.

After arresting the Moroccan, the agents carried out a search of his home in Aldeanos. They found numerous computer equipment, as well as 60 self-learning manuals for terrorists, including on the manufacture of explosives, the production of poisons, "night combat tactics" and "snipers". All these objects were seized.