MADRID, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- An alleged extremist was arrested on Tuesday in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for praising terrorism, the Spanish interior ministry reported on Tuesday.
The detainee, a 30-year-old Moroccan citizen, was accused of exalting terrorism through social media, spreading the propaganda of different jihadist groups, and showing his support for terrorist attacks in areas of conflict.
The ministry highlighted that the Internet and social media was being used as a tool for spreading jihadist ideas.
"That is the first step in the process of radicalization and recruitment," the ministry said.
The man was the second alleged extremist arrested this week in Spain. Another man was apprehended in northern Spain on Monday and stands accused of leading a terrorist cell in charge of sending fighters to Turkey.
Spain raised its anti-terrorist level alert to level 4 in 2015 and since then, a total of 182 suspicious jihadist terrorists have been arrested.
The country suffered the worst terrorist attack in European history in 2004 when 10 bombs exploded in four trains in the capital, killing 191 people and wounding more than 1,800 others.
