 A French man who was arrested in Spain with explosives in his vehicle on Sunday had been planning a suicide attack in Barcelona, Spanish state security sources said on Thursday. The sources said Moulay Abel, 30, told police he planned the attack because of an unlucky love affair, but an Islamist motive was also suspected because he had a copy of the Koran in the car and had ritually shaved his scrotum pubes body hair.
The man is undergoing psychological checks, a court source said.
"Well, Doc, what's your diagnosis?"
"He's a nut, alright!" |
He had planned to drive the vehicle, loaded with two butane gas cylinders and explosive material, into a public building and detonate it from inside, the sources said, citing a police report. The Interior Ministry was unable to confirm the report on Thursday.
"Hey, Manuel! We got any exploding Salafists today?"
"I dun' thin' so, Pedro!" |
Barcelona police were unavailable to comment.
| "George, if anybody calls, I'm at lunch!" |
Police arrested Abel in Girona near the Spanish-French border, the sources said. Explosives found in the vehicle were sufficient to have caused a strong blast and fire. It was unclear which building he had planned to attack. After his arrest, police searched Abel's home in northeastern France, from where he had driven nearly 1,000 km (620 miles) before being arrested. |