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Ex-rapper, Accused of Heading Militant Cell, is Found Dead in Spanish Prison

Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was found dead in a Spanish prison Wednesday. File photo
Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was found dead in a Spanish prison Wednesday. File photo
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Ex-rapper, Accused of Heading Militant Cell, is Found Dead in Spanish Prison

Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was found dead in a Spanish prison Wednesday. File photo
Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was found dead in a Spanish prison Wednesday. File photo

A former British rap artist and militant has died in custody in Spain, the Interior Ministry said Thursday.

Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was found dead in a Spanish prison Wednesday, the ministry said. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

Abdel Bary was arrested in 2020, accused of heading a militant terror cell. He was facing up to 9 years in prison. A trial was set for sentencing July 14 and he was awaiting verdict.

Abdel Bary, 32, left London in 2013 to join an Al Qaeda faction and later ISIS militias in Syria. He made a name for himself on social media sites by showing himself clutching the severed head of one of his alleged victims.

Before joining the group, Abdel Bary performed as rapper lyricist under the name Jinn.

He was the son of an Egyptian operative of al-Qaeda who was convicted for events related to the 1998 bombings at US embassies in Africa that killed 224 people. Abdel Bary stopped making music not long after his father’s extradition to the US on terror charges.

Spanish police arrested Abdel Bary and two other men in April 2020, shortly after they crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on a skiff from Algeria.

He was accused of leading a militant terror cell formed by him and the two other men, dedicated to committing internet banking scams and trafficking in cryptocurrencies to “finance their terrorist activities.”

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Erdogan Says Türkiye Might Enter Israel to Help Palestinians

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a military parade to mark the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus in response to a short-lived Greek-inspired coup, in the Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, in the divided city of Nicosia, Cyprus July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a military parade to mark the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus in response to a short-lived Greek-inspired coup, in the Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, in the divided city of Nicosia, Cyprus July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Erdogan Says Türkiye Might Enter Israel to Help Palestinians

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a military parade to mark the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus in response to a short-lived Greek-inspired coup, in the Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, in the divided city of Nicosia, Cyprus July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a military parade to mark the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus in response to a short-lived Greek-inspired coup, in the Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, in the divided city of Nicosia, Cyprus July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that his country might enter Israel as it had done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what sort of intervention he was suggesting.

Erdogan, who has been a fierce critic of Israel's offensive in Gaza, started discussing that war during a speech praising his country's defense industry.

"We must be very strong so that Israel can't do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them," Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party in his hometown of Rize.

"There is no reason why we cannot do this ... We must be strong so that we can take these steps," Erdogan added in the televised address, Reuters reported.

AK Party representatives did not respond to calls asking for more detail on Erdogan's comments. Israel did not immediately make any comment.

The president appeared to be referring to past actions by Türkiye.

In 2020, Türkiye sent military personnel to Libya in support of the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord of Libya.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, who heads the Government of National Unity in Tripoli, is backed by Türkiye.

Türkiyehas denied any direct role in Azerbaijan's military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, but said last year it was using "all means", including military training and modernisation, to support its close ally.