A London rapper who became one of Europe’s most wanted terrorists has reportedly been arrested in Spain.

Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, who performed as L Jinny or Lyricist Jinn, is believed to be one of three suspects found hiding in a rented apartment in Almería.

Spain’s Policía Nacional did not name the men but called the main suspect “one of Europe’s most wanted Isis foreign fighters”, and said he was an Egyptian national.

Two sources close to the investigation told the Associated Press that the man was Abdel Bary.

He previously held dual British and Egyptian nationality, but the UK government has been removing citizenship from Isis fighters to prevent their return.

Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent

A police spokesperson said he had recently entered Spain irregularly from North Africa.

Almería sits in the southerly region of Andalusia, which has seen a rise in migrant boat crossings from Morocco.

The Policía Nacional suggested that officers had received intelligence that Abdel Bary intended to return to mainland Europe via Spain and had traced him from arrival to the apartment.

“The detainees adapted their behaviour to the circumstances of the ‘state of alarm’ as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, making few exits, separately, and always with masks to avoid being detected,” a spokesperson added.

“Intensive work is being done to verify the identity of the other two detainees and the ultimate reasons for their presence in Spain.”

Police are investigating whether the other two suspects are also returned foreign fighters or were offering Bary “security and logistical support for entry into Europe”.

The trio were being interrogated on Tuesday and scheduled to appear before a National Court judge in Madrid on Wednesday.

The statement said the man thought to be Abdel Bary had been in the Syrian-Iraqi conflict zone for several years and had an “extremely violent profile” that drew the attention of intelligence services.

It said the man’s activities with Isis had been covered by the media, including “extremely graphic” images of alleged war crimes.

The arrest of a Egyptian national, alleged to be a former Isis fighter, in Almeria, southern Spain, on 21 April (Policia Nacional)

In 2014, Abdel Bary was reported to have posted a photo on Twitter showing himself holding a Syrian regime soldier’s head, with the caption: “Chillin’ with my homie, or what’s left of him”.

He was among the British Isis fighters considered to be potential identities for the executioner Jihadi John, before he was named as Mohammed Emwazi.

Abdel Bary is the son of an Egyptian al-Qaeda operative who was convicted in connection with the 1998 US embassy bombings that killed more than 200 people.

He grew up in Maida Vale, London, and joined Isis after his father was extradited for trial in the US.

Adel Abdul Bary was convicted and sentenced to a 25-year prison term in 2015.

Music videos still available online show Abdel Bary performing raps with references to drug use, violence and his family’s experience as asylum seekers in Britain.

In a 2013 Facebook post, he wrote: “I have left everything for the sake of Allah.”

The following year, Twitter posts suggested he had reached Isis’ capital Raqqa, but his account was later taken down.

Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary was a rap artist from Maida Vale, west London, before he went to fight in Syria

By July 2015, he was reported to have fled Isis after becoming disillusioned.

Spain’s interior ministry said police had arrested nearly 400 people connected to extremist religious groups since 2012.

More than 400 people “of national security concern” are believed to have returned to the UK from conflicts in Syria and Iraq, but only one in 10 have been prosecuted.

The government brought in a raft of new terror laws that it said would plug loopholes allowing Isis fighters to go free last year.

But it has not yet used the new provisions, instead continuing efforts to remove jihadis’ citizenship that have sparked legal challenges and diplomatic rows.

The UK previously refused to prosecute two members of the “Beatles” Isis cell, which had included Jihadi John, after they were detained in Syria in 2018.