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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Lucy Pasha-Robinson

Isis fighter relentlessly mocked on Spanish Twitter after threatening further violence

An Isis recruit has become the unlikely face of a wave of Spanish Twitter memes after releasing a video threatening Spain with more violence in the wake of the Barcelona attacks that killed 15 people. 

The video, circulated last week by the extremist group, showed a young Spanish-speaking extremist threatening to wage war on the country. 

But Twitter users have responded by flooding the site with memes of the man, pasting his face on bullfighters and dubbing over the video with rap music.

One widely-circulated post shows the bearded man as a Youtube blogger asking for viewers to like and subscribe to his channel.

Another sees him rapping along to a reggaeton track dubbed the "official ISIS remix."

"When you see me, I know you’re trembling," the fighter raps in a version of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny’s hit "Tu No Metes Cabra". 

Another showed him saying "An authentic paella is made WITHOUT seafood", following last year's Spanish backlash to British chef Jamie Oliver attempting to make an authentic version of the rice dish using mussels and chorizo. 

Spanish media, citing police sources, claimed the fighter in the video is 22-year-old Muhammad Yasin Ahram Perez, who was born in Cordoba and moved to Syria in 2014 to join Isis with his mother and brothers.

The original video saw him threaten to avenge Muslims killed in the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century, and rebuild "Al Andalus", the medieval Muslim territory which occupied most of modern Spain and Portugal.

The memes have been praised as a sign of the resilience of the Spanish people, after being subjected to two devastating attacks on 17 and 18 August. 

Isis claimed responsibility for the attacks which saw jihadists plough a van into crowds on Barcelona's Las Ramblas - its most famous avenue  - and then later assault the Catalan seaside resort of Cambrils.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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