Spain arrests al Qaeda member for inciting attacks

A man believed to be suspected member of al-Qaida is led out of a apartment block with a jacket covering his head, by civil guards in Valencia, Spain, Tuesday March 27, 2012, after his arrest. The suspected member of al-Qaida, identified only by the initials M.H.A. , is thought to have been a key to the terror group's Internet propaganda and recruiting operations, officials said. The Jordanian-born with Saudi citizenship suspect arrested in the eastern city of Valencia "administered one of the world's most important jihadist forums", dedicated to recruiting and indoctrinating Islamic terrorists, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said. (AP Photo)

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police have arrested a suspected al Qaeda member on charges of broadcasting videos on the Internet to incite militant attacks, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

A ministry statement said police arrested the man, identified as "M.H.A.", in the eastern city of Valencia after an investigation launched in February 2011.

Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez said the man was suspected of working with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as well as al Qaeda North African branch al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM).

"He was known in the heart of the terrorist organization as 'al Qaeda's librarian'," Fernandez told a news conference.

Fernandez said the suspect worked full-time from home to recruit potential extremists and arrange for them to travel to Afghanistan, as did an al Qaeda-inspired gunman who went on a killing spree in France last week.

"The training of people like Mohamed Merah, the Jihadist killer in Toulouse, arose through acts with such characteristics," Fernandez said.

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