A Moroccan man has been sentenced to jail for plotting to poison water supplies in Spain.

A Spanish judge on Saturday said Abdellatif Aoulad Chiba has sought information on Islamist websites on how to poison the water supply at campsites and tourist resorts.

The judge said Chiba was a member of al-Qaida's North African wing, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

The group operates across the Africa's Sahel region and is believed to be behind a string of kidnappings and attacks in Mali, Niger and Mauritania over the last several years.