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MADRID (AP) — Spanish and Moroccan police have arrested 10 people on suspicion of recruiting jihadi fighters for the Islamic State group, Spain's officials said Sunday.
All 10 allegedly formed part of a "very important recruitment platform" also dedicated to the indoctrination, radicalization and transport of individuals to jihadi combat zones, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said.
Four of the suspects, two men and two women, were arrested in Spain, with raids taking place in Badalona, Toledo and Valencia. The other six arrests were made in, Morocco, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The women arrested in Spain were both Moroccans, while one of the men was a Spanish national of Moroccan ancestry and the other a Portuguese citizen converted to Islam. All are suspected of recruiting people to fight in Syria and Iraq, the statement says.
Fernandez Diaz said the arrests in Morocco took place in the western coastal city of Casablanca and that the operation highlighted Spain's cooperation with Morocco, with both countries sharing intelligence and "synchronizing operations."
The minister said there was also evidence the group had specialized in recruiting women for transport to areas controlled by IS.
Fernandes Diaz said Spain remained on high alert for possible terror attacks, with all services "active to protect places that are considered to be potential objects of attacks."
The arrests took place on Sunday. Investigators also seized a considerable amount of computer equipment and data which is being analyzed, the ministry statement said.
