ISIS in north Africa is a ‘serious threat’ to Spain, says foreign minister

ISIS is a ‘serious threat’ to Spain’s national security, according to foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo.

The Middle East and North Africa were named as the main security threats, with Garcia-Margallo adding that it is ‘a more complicated situation since the appearance of Isis’.

“There is a high risk of contagion across the whole of north Africa, presenting a serious threat to our national security,” he told Spanish daily El Pais.

Isis has begun to take hold in several areas across north Africa, particularly in Libya, where ‘the black flag is already flying in several cities’.

Garcia-Margallo added that for Spain, Latin America and particularly Cuba were also priorities.

“The thawing of relations between the US and Cuba shows that Obama wants to accomplish his foreign policy agenda.”

Spain took up its seat as a non-permanent member of the UN’s security council on January 1, which it will hold until 2016.