10 jihadi recruitment suspects arrested in Spain, Morocco

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.

“The operation is a firm blow to the networks that dedicate themselves to attracting, radicalization and recruiting people to form part of Daesh”, the minister told the media.

The counterterrorism operation “clearly shows the extraordinary level of relations with Morocco”, a country with which Spain “shares intelligence” and “operationally synchronizes actions like the one today”, the minister said.

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 suspects arrested in the operation “focused especially on recruiting women” for Islamic State, Fernandez Diaz said.

In a major crackdown on jihadists, including those operating online, Spanish police have arrested scores of suspected recruiters in recent years. Investigators also seized a considerable amount of computer equipment and data which is being analyzed, the ministry statement said.

Authorities suspect that more than 100 people from Spain have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with extremist groups.