Ten suspected terrorists have been arrested in a series of raids in Spain and Morocco, all thought to have recruited jihadi fighters for the Islamic State (IS). One burka-clad woman, 18, who was paraded on a busy Gandia street, disseminated decapitation videos and was planning to join IS.
Four of the suspects, two men and two women, were arrested in Spain, with raids taking place in Badalona, Toledo and Valencia, while the other six arrests happened in Morocco, Spain’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The terror suspects were part of a “network of recruitment, indoctrination and sending foreign fighters to fight for Daesh (IS) in the regions of Syria and Iraq under its control,” the statement read.
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.
The arrests took place on Sunday and investigators also seized a considerable amount of computer equipment and data, which is being analysed, the statement says.
The 18-year-old woman apprehended in Gandia was allegedly planning to leave Spain and join IS herself. Two plain clothed, masked female officers escorted her from her home before shocked onlookers.
A police statement said of her: “She spread jihadist ideology on the internet, justifying terrorist acts and spreading videos that glorified executions of people.”
Adding: “She had focused her online activity on recruiting women to go and swell the ranks of Daesh [Arabic for IS].”
Over one hundred Spanish citizens have already traveled to join the terrorist state in Iraq and Syria.
In 2004, 191 Spaniards lost their lives in a series of Al Qaeda inspired bomb attacks in the capital Madrid. Among the many convicted for the atrocity, 20 were of Moroccan origin.
AFP contributed to this report. Read more here.
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