Members of the National Police Intelligence Agency arrested a 32-year-old man of Moroccan origin in the Divino Valles street in Madrid on Wednesday after he was found to be a member of the Islamic State terrorist organisation and in an advanced stated of radicalisation.
According to a police statement, the man is "extremely dangerous", displaying similar characteristics to the terrorists implicated in the recent attacks in the UK and France, and constituted a clear threat for the security of the country.
The accused had carried out an exhaustive search of official Islamic State training documentation and had compiled a huge number of manuals referring specifically to terrorist activity within a jihadi framework, for example a manual on suicide terrorism and a manual on electronic jihad.
The files cover all aspects of terrorism, from the most extreme ideological preparation to acts of martyrdom. During the investigation, police officers were able to highlight certain indicators on social networks, which link the accused to members of Islamic State in the Syrian-Iraqi jihadi combat zone.
The accused has also been found to have been in the process of radicalising people around him, trying to persuade them to carry out violent acts of terror in Spain.
The Islamic State training material seized was allegedly being used to prepare his chosen candidates in radical religious notions, as well as in other aspects of theoretical and practical operational training.
Another two individuals, both of Moroccan origin aged 33 and 38 respectively, were also arrested in yesterday's operation. They were living in the same accommodation as the main suspect and were believed to be initiating terrorist practices under his tutelage.
Yesterday's police operation was carried out as part of the country's counter-terrorism programme, which is centred on the rapid detection and neutralisation of individuals whose radicalisation has reached dangerous levels and who are considered likely to take the step towards direct terrorist action.
