A suspected Islamic militant returning to Europe from the war in Syria was arrested on Sunday at Malaga airport in southern Spain as a potential `` threat to national security , '' the Interior Ministry said in a statement . The suspect , Abdeluahid Sadik Mohamed , belongs to an al Qaeda-linked group , Islamic State of Iraq and Syria , the statement said . A spokesman for the Ministry confirmed Sadik Mohamed is a Spanish national born in Ceuta , the Spanish enclave on Morocco 's north coast . He had spent months alongside Islamic militants fighting in Syria and in Iraq since last May , arriving to the region from Casablanca , Morocco . He was arrested at Malaga airport on a flight from Istanbul , Turkey , the statement said . Spanish terrorism experts have repeatedly said that authorities are closely tracking the movements of Islamic militants who have fought in Syria , Iraq or Afghanistan when they come to Europe for the threat they pose as potential `` lone wolves '' or in group terrorist actions . Sadik Mohamed was allegedly involved in terrorist training camps in Syria and Iraq , the statement said . The Interior Ministry did not immediately reveal his age . He was a suspect in a partially dismantled Spanish and Moroccan network of Islamic militants that recruited , indoctrinated , trained and financed militants to be sent to the battlefronts in Syria . The network was based in Ceuta and and in the nearby Moroccan city of Fnideq . Ten militants allegedly linked to this network have been jailed on pretrial charges of terrorism , including the alleged leader who was arrested September 17 after escaping detention in June . Eight other suspected colleagues were rounded up at that time . In a court order issued in June , Judge Ismael Moreno of Spain 's National Court wrote that the suspected cell in Ceuta was `` a structure based in Spain , with connections in Morocco , Belgium , Turkey and Syria , dedicated to radicalizing , recruiting and sending mujahedeen ( fighters ) to Syria with the aim of conducting jihad and achieving martyrdom . '' The group has connections to the Jabhat al-Nusra front , described as an active al Qaeda group in and around Syria , and to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria , but `` there are increasing references to carrying out jihad at home , '' the judge warned at the time , referring to potential attacks in Spain . The group had sent at least 12 Spanish or Moroccan males , from both Ceuta and Morocco , to fight in Syria , the judge wrote . At least five died in suicide attacks in Syria that caused numerous casualties . One of the males was a minor ; it was not immediately clear if he was among those who had died . Sadik Mohamed will be arraigned at the National Court in Madrid , the Interior Ministry statement said .
Suspect is a Spanish national . The suspect is tied to an al Qaeda - linked group . The arrest took place at Madrid Airport . Sadik Mohammed will be tried at the National Court in Madrid , .