The Jihadist arrested yesterday in Valencia was known to those in the heart of the Al Qaeda organisation as the 'librarian' and was a key player in the propaganda machine and in the campaign to recruit terrorists via the Internet, said Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz today.

The minister explained that the man arrested, a Saudi Arabian citizen born in Jordan, was working for Al Qaeda and for two of its subsidiary organisations - Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI).

The detainee worked full time at disseminating the jihad via the Internet, working from home for between 8 and 16 hours a day luring and indoctrination radical Islamists and even providing transport for terrorists to go to Afghanistan and other areas where Al Qaeda are currently active.

Fernández Díaz underlined the fact that the Toulouse assassin, Mohamed Merah, underwent his terrorist training in via Jihadist forums just like the one being operated by the man arrested in Valencia, although he made it clear that there was no link between that police operation and the arrest made yesterday.

The minister did, however, emphasise the importance of the oprtation, which remains open, which involved the work of over a hundred officers over the course of a year, and their crucial role in preventing terrorism in Spain.

The man, whose identity has only been given as M.H.A., was arrested and charged with disseminating audiovisual products via the Internet that encourage people to commit terrorist acts.  A property in Calle Juan XXIII was searched in relation with the arrest.