Two arrested in Catalonia and Canaries over Islamic State links
Detained suspects accused of forming part of a recruitment and training network
A 32-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were arrested on Tuesday during a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the Spanish National Police in Catalonia and the Canary Islands.
Both suspects are accused of recruiting and training people for Islamic State (ISIS) via the social networks and of seeking to send them to conflict zones.
During a search of the suspects’ homes, officers seized computer files and other evidence that purportedly shows that the two helped train ISIS recruits to use explosives and assault weapons. They also helped spread jihadist propaganda, including images of executions carried out by ISIS.
Just like the terrorists in San Bernardino, in California, these two suspects had also pledged their allegiance to ISIS and were at the point of no return” Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz
The man was identified as a Moroccan with Spanish nationality who lives in Mataró, Barcelona. The female suspect is also said to be a Spanish national of Moroccan origin who lives in the municipality of Pájara on the Canary island of Fuerteventura.
Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz explained that the suspects belonged to the same jihadist cell and had allegedly published generic death threats against France and Spain on the social networks.
He added that both “were ready to commit terrorist attacks” and had also issued threats against other religious groups that do not profess ISIS ideology.
“With these latest arrests, the number of people detained in 2015 in counter-terrorism operations stands at 100,” the minister said.
Although the two suspects never traveled to Syria, Fernández Díaz said that they had become radicalized through social media and had made contacts with ISIS terrorist leaders. They were also reportedly awaiting for instructions from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of ISIS.
“Just like the terrorists in San Bernardino, in California, these two suspects had also pledged their allegiance to the organization and were at the point of no return,” the interior minister said.
The arrests follow several others that have been made in Spain since the November 13 Paris attacks, in which 130 people died. On December 2 a 32-year-old Moroccan man was arrested in Pamplona after he was found to have been viewing large quantities of jihadist material online over the last two years.
On November 28, the Civil Guard arrested two men and one woman in Barcelona and nearby Granollers accused of belonging to a jihadist network that specialized in recruiting women and sending them off to Afghanistan and other conflict zones.
The first jihadism-related arrest after the French attacks came on November 23 at a prison in Segovia when police detained inmate A. Chiakhi. The 42-year-old, who is serving time on domestic violence charges, was suspected of working to recruit other prisoners to join ISIS and of threatening to plant bombs in Madrid and Barcelona in the name of the terrorist group.
English version by Nick Funnell and Martin Delfín.
