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Spanish man jailed for nine years over 9/11 arrested again due to Isis link

Police in Madrid have arrested a man who previously spent time in jail linked with 9/11 for acting as an Isis "cyber soldier".

Spanish man jailed for nine years over 9/11 arrested again due to Isis link
Police carrying out the raid in Madrid. Photo: Policia Nacional

The 52-year-old, who is a Spanish citizen, was arrested in Madrid on Wednesday for allegedly indoctrinating, recruiting and training people for Isis. The same man had previously spent nine years in prison for working with Al Qaeda in connection to the September 11th attack in New York, the Spanish police said.

“Sentenced for his participation in the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, after being freed, the detainee had in recent years developed a profile akin to that of the cyber soldier – the 2.0 version of the jihadist fighter, who uses computer networks to share, interact with and propagate terrorist ideology. Far from changing his behaviour, the detainee carried out his actions as part of his commitment to the ideological and terrorist tenets of Isis,” Spain’s national police wrote on their website.

“Despite having asserted in statements to the media that he was looking 'to live in peace' and claiming not to be a terrorist, the detainee continued being monitored by agents of the national police, who noted that he had renewed his commitment to carry out virtual mujahideen activities, meet the requirements of virtual or electronic Jihad, and carry out training activities for third parties within violent Jihad.”

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Police noted that the man published videos in which he appeared using weapons and giving instructions to carry out terrorist actions, and was particularly active in the psychological indoctrination of recruits.

On Wednesday, Spain's Minister of the Interior Juan Ignacio Zoido tweeted a video of the police operation in which the man was detained.