Spain, Morocco Arrest 14 Suspected of Recruiting Terrorists for ISIL

MADRID- Spain and Morocco arrested 14 people on Tuesday suspected of recruiting terrorists to join the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS or ISIL) in Syria and Iraq, Spain’s Interior Ministry said, according to Reuters.

Suspects were detained in the outskirts of Madrid and in other cities and towns in Morocco, it added.

The arrests were linked to “a network … capturing and sending foreign fighters to join the ranks of the terrorist organization Daesh (Islamic State) in the Syrian-Iraq region that it controls,” the ministry statement said.

The operation comes days after a 26-year-old Moroccan man was accused of attacking passengers on a train in France, armed with a Kalashnikov, an assault rifle and a box cutter knife.

Spain and other countries in Europe and North Africa have said they are alarmed about the risk of locals joining terrorists abroad and returning to launch attacks at home.

H.M