Successful anti-terrorist operation in Almeria
Blow to jihadist terrorism in Spain. The National Police have arrested in Almeria a British-Egyptian citizen, a veteran of the war in Syria and Iraq, who was one of the most wanted foreign fighters in all of Europe. Actually, the terrorist detained today in the Andalusian city was once believed to be 'Jihad John', a British citizen responsible for the murder of American Journalist James Foley.
The operation, in which two other people have been arrested, was coordinated from the General Information Commissariat with the Provincial Commissariat of Almeria, the National Intelligence Centre and security forces from other countries.
The terrorist in question has been identified as Abdel Majed Abdel Bary, according to various sources. The police describe his criminal profile as “extremely violent” and confirm that he had been active in the Syrian-Iraqi border area for years. Abdel Bary, 29, also appeared in several audiovisual and written publications on the Daesh communication network.
A 28-year-old Algerian citizen named Abdeizerrak Seddiki is also said to have been arrested, according to the Vozpópuli newspaper. The identity of the third detainee is still being determined. Counter-terrorism officials also hope to clarify what relationship the two had with Abdel Bary. It is not known whether they are also returned combatants or whether they simply provided logistical and security support to the Egyptian terrorist.
According to the communication issued by the General Directorate of the Police, the investigation has been complex and has focused on finding out how the terrorist was able to reach Almeria. It appears that Abdel Bary and his two companions arrived illegally from North Africa. Once in Almeria, they took severe precautionary measures to avoid being located. It is specified that they were also following the rules of confinement imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The arrests took place in their home, located near the Puerta de Purchena, in the centre of the Andalusian city.
For a while, at the beginning of Daesh's domination over the territory of Syria and Iraq, there was speculation that Abdel Bary could actually be the terrorist known as 'Jihad John', in charge of the execution of various hostages such as the American journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, the Japanese reporter Kenji Goto or the aid workers Daid Haines and Alan Henning.
Jihad John' was one of the most visible and charismatic people of Daesh during his period of splendour and, in a video, he went so far as to directly threaten former US president Barack Obama.
However, Abdel Bary's hypothesis was invalidated when British intelligence was able to identify Mohammed Emwazi, another British national of Egyptian origin who, like Abdel Bary, was a rapper, as the enigmatic terrorist. Daesh itself confirmed the death of 'Jihad John' at the end of 2015 in an air strike from a drone.
In 2015, a few months before that bombing, Abdel Bary had defected from the ranks of the terrorist group. He stayed for some time in Turkey looking for a way to return to EU soil, as acknowledged by his fiancée, a Spanish citizen who was arrested in 2015 at Barajas airport. She intended to travel to Istanbul on a false passport to meet her future husband.
She was tried for collaboration with a terrorist organisation and sentenced to two years in prison, but did not set foot in the prison because she had no criminal record. Since his fiancée provided this information to the investigators, Abdel Bary was in the sights of all the security and intelligence services on the European continent. The Guardia Civil had been after him for years.
According to voice-over journalist Alejandro Requeijo, the Egyptian jihadist had been under close surveillance since his arrival in Spain. The key information for his arrest was provided by the CNI, according to Requeijo.