A 44-year-old man has been arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of terrorism offences after Spain issued a European arrest warrant for six people believed to be members of Islamic State.
West Midlands counter-terrorism unit arrested the man at a property in Sparkhill in the early hours of Wednesday in relation to a Spanish investigation into online propaganda material.
Spain’s interior ministry said the British man was an imam subscribing to Salafism, an ultra-conservative form of Islam. He is said to have been wanted by several countries and is believed to have led the group. Four people have been arrested on the Spanish island of Mallorca and another person in Germany, the ministry said.
The police investigation began in 2015 when officers discovered videos promoted by the British imam that documented the recruitment, indoctrination and journey to Syria of a young Muslim resident in Spain, according to the ministry’s statement.
The ministry alleges that the cell devised and circulated videos with violent content and organised secret weekly meetings to recruit young people to travel to conflict zones to fight.
The imam is accused of being the producer of films for the cell, which is believed to have been based in Mallorca. He is alleged to have recently travelled to the Spanish island to meet the four Spain-based men to discuss indoctrinating others.
He is due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday.
The man arrested in Germany allegedly had contact with the others and had taken part in recruitment videos made by the group, the ministry said.
Since Spain raised the security alert to level four – the second highest – in June 2015, Spanish police have arrested 178 people accused of links to Islamist militancy.
In the UK, where the threat level is also the second highest – “severe” – there were a record 304 terrorism arrests in the 12 months to March, the highest number since 9/11.
Police forces from Spain, Germany and the UK cooperated using European Union agencies – Europol, Eurojust and Sirene - set up to help share information related to fighting crime within member states.
Concerns have been raised about the degree of access British police forces will have to European databases after the UK leaves the EU, potentially jeopardising pan-European anti-terror investigations.
