14 arrested in Morocco, Spain in joint operation against IS recruitment ring
Xinhua, August 25, 2015 Adjust font size:
14 people were arrested in Spain and Morocco on Tuesday morning in a joint operation by Spanish and Moroccan security forces against a network suspected of recruiting people to fight for the Islamic State (IS).
The arrests were made in the San Martin de la Vega district in the southeast of the Spanish capital, Madrid, and in Fez, Casablanca, iNador, Al Hoceima and Driouech in Morocco.
The news was confirmed by the Spanish Interior Ministry whose communique added the operation was "ongoing."
"Those arrested formed part of a network who recruited and sent fighters to join the ranks of the Islamic State terrorist organization (DAESH) in Syria and Iraq," explained the ministry.
The arrests continue a trend which has seen an increase in jihadist recruitment groups in Spain and the two Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta, which border Morocco on the north coast of Africa.
The first seven months of 2015 saw 48 people arrested in 13 operations against jihadists, while 46 people were arrested in 2014 in similar operations.
Earlier in August a man was arrested in northwestern Spain for selling clothing with pro-jihadist logos, including one t-shirt depicting an IS 'execution' of a British hostage.
Meanwhile on Friday a Moroccan who had lived in Spain between 2007 and 2014, was arrested following a foiled attack on a high-speed French train. Endit