At least 10 people have been arrested on charges of recruiting fighters in Spain and Morocco for the Islamic State terrorist group, Spanish authorities say.
According to a statement by the Spanish Interior Ministry, the suspects were part of a “network of recruitment, indoctrination and sending foreign fighters to fight for Daesh (Islamic State) in the regions of Syria and Iraq under its control.”
The statement said the suspects were arrested in a joint operation between the European country Spain and African country Morocco, who are Mediterranean neighbours.
Most of the suspects were arrested in Spanish neighbourhoods of Toledo, Badalona and Xeraco, while the suspects arrested in Morocco were apprehended in the city of Casablanca.
The clampdown on jihadists has increased in Spain in response to the increase in cases of Europeans joining jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria, amidst fears that these jihadists may return to the country to pursue terrorist agenda.
The two nations equally joined forces to crackdown on jihadists in August in which 14 suspects were apprehended, just as hundreds of Europeans are said to have joined terrorist causes in the Middle East in recent times.