The teenager suspected of taking part in a terror attack in Spain had left clues of radicalization on social media long before he allegedly rented the van used to mow down dozens of tourists on a crowded street in Barcelona.
Moussa Oukabir, a 17-year-old native of Morocco living in southern Spain, is believed to be part of a cell of jihadists that carried out the Barcelona attack, which left 14 people dead and more than 100 others injured.
In multiple social media posts under the handle @Moussastreetboy, Oukabir left clues that he harbored jihadist sympathies at an early age, reports Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
When asked by an internet acquaintance what he would do if he were a king with absolute power, then 15-year-old Oukabir replied: “Kill the infidels and only leave Muslims to continue the religion.”
In a separate post, Oukabir suggested he was comfortable with violent retribution. When asked what he would do if he found out that someone had been lying to him for a year, Oukabir said he would “kill them at night with a pistol.”
The teen did add that his resonse was “a joke.”
Spanish police are currently searching for Oukabir, whom they believe used his brother’s identity documents to rent the van used in the Barcelona attack and another intended to be used as a getaway vehicle. The brother, 28-year-old Driss Oukabir, told police he was not involved in the plot and that and that his documents had been stolen.
Authorities have thus far arrested four people in connection the Barcelona attack and a related incident in the Spanish town of Cambrils that occurred hours later. In the Cambrils attack, a five men in an Audi sedan plowed through a group of police officers and civilians, injuring several but killing none. The attackers reportedly emerged from the car with knives, but police shot four dead and arrested the fifth.
Police say the both attacks were coordinated by a single jihadist cell in southern Spain. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were the work of its “soldiers.”
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