A Spaniard may be among the prisoners from Afghanistan being held in the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay near Cuba, a Spanish Interior Ministry spokesman said today.
"The US has informed us of the possibility that a man from Ceuta could be in Guantanamo", the spokesman said.
"Spanish police have sent copies of fingerprints to the US for comparison and we are waiting for the result, which we expect to arrive today", he said.
National radio identified the prisoner as Mr Ahmed Abderraman (27) from the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta.
It quoted his mother as saying she had last seen him five or six months ago when he told her he was going to Madrid and then to Britain to look for work.
El Pais, citing sources, said the man was of Moroccan origin and had been recruited by a Spanish branch of al-Qaeda, which was disbanded last year.