DPA

MADRID SPANISH police on Tuesday detained a suspected Al Qaeda member who apparently played an important role in recruiting potential terrorists over the internet, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said.

The Jordanian-born Saudi citizen, known as the Al Qaeda librarian, was being held in the eastern city of Valencia, where he lived, Diaz said.

He allegedly worked fulltime for the Al Qaeda branches on the Iberian Peninsula and in North Africa from his home, spreading jihadist propaganda over the internet, Fernandez said.

The man was also suspected of recruiting potential terrorists over the internet and of helping them organise travel to Afghanistan.

The detainee worked for a website similar to those visited by Mohamed Merah, the extremist who was shot dead by French police last week after killing seven people, Fernandez said.

However, no link had been detected between Merah and the Saudi captured in Spain, he added.

The Saudi was the first suspected Islamist detained in Spain in six months.

About 100 police participated in the 12-month investigation that led to his arrest.