10 arrested in joint Spanish-Moroccan anti-terrorism operation
Xinhua, October 5, 2015 Adjust font size:
Ten people have been arrested in a joint operation against terrorism by Spanish and Moroccan security forces in the early hours of Sunday morning, the Spanish Interior Ministry has confirmed.
The arrests took place in the Spanish cities of Toledo, Badalona (just north of Barcelona), Xeraco (a small town in the province of Valencia) and in Casablanca in Morocco.
Four of the arrests, two men and two women, took place in Spain, while the remaining six detentions were in Casablanca.
The ministry informed that the two women and one of the men detained in Spain are Moroccan, while the other person who was arrested was a Portuguese convert to Islam.
The statement released on Sunday added that those arrested formed "part of an international network which operated mainly in Spain and Morocco to radicalize, indoctrinate and recruit new members, especially women, for the DAESH," (the Islamic State) in Syria and Iraq.
Spanish police confirmed that the person arrested in Xaraco is a young woman aged between 17-19 years old, who lived with her parents in the town.
The local mayor, Francesc Serralta, confirmed that the operation which led to her arrest began at around 5.30 a.m. local time and involved around 40 members of the Spanish National Police force. Endit