Spain arrests eight suspected jihadists with IS ties

Spanish authorities arrested eight suspected members of a jihadist network Friday who allegedly called for terrorist attacks in Spain and tried to recruit for the Islamic State group.

In raids in the vicinity of Madrid and Barcelona, agents took into custody suspects who “called for the commission of terrorist acts in Spain inspired by techniques used in other countries,” an interior ministry statement said.

The suspects also allegedly attempted to “localise and select radicals inclined to adopt the jihadist ideology” and put them in touch with IS members abroad.

Spanish authorities said the suspects were in contact with an IS member “who was supervising their activities from Syria and Iraq.”

The alleged jihadists, six men and two women, are suspected of targeting immigrants and Spanish people with Moroccan origins.

A Spanish judge on Thursday remanded two other suspected jihadists in custody on terrorism charges following their arrest in Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta.

The two suspects, Spaniards “of Moroccan origin,” were accused of belonging to a group “prepared” to launch possible attacks in Europe, authorities said.

About 60 people charged in Islamist terrorist cases were being held in Spain at the start of 2015, a law enforcement source said.

Spanish authorities say about 100 people from Spain are suspected of having joined jihadist fighters in Iraq and Syria, and fear they may return to launch attacks.

Hundreds more such radicals from France, Britain and Germany are also thought to have travelled to those countries to fight.