Two more jihadists arrested in Barcelona for recruiting for ISIS

SPANISH authorities arrested two men suspected of being involved in “recruitment and indoctrination” for the Islamic state group on November 4.

The men – a Spanish citizen and a Moroccan national – were arrested in a morning raid in Cornella de Llobregat, Barcelona. In a statement, the interior ministry said the two men were suspected of “maintaining contact with people in conflict zones, offering their support and encouraging them to continue their activities.”

The ministry added: “They also allegedly actively and directly participated in Daesh (IS)’s propaganda machine, by organising private meetings to watch propaganda content produced by the terrorist organisation.” 

The men aimed to convince anyone who watched the videos or photos to join ISIS and go to conflict zones, the ministry said.

The arrests come a day after authorities detained three men who allegedly planned a terror attack in Madrid. Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told Cadena Ser radio that suspects “were ready to conduct indiscriminate attacks.”

Authorities fear that more than 100 people from Spain are suspected of joining jihadists in Iraq and Syria and may return to launch attacks. Spain has detained about 171 jihadists suspects since December 2011, most of which were recruiting for IS instead of planning attacks, according to the interior minister.

The terror alert in Spain was raised to four on a scale of five on June 26, after attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait.