Authorities in Spain and Morocco rounded up 14 suspected members of an Islamic State cell on Tuesday in a wide-ranging joint operation that saw one suspect detained near Madrid and the others taken into custody in several Moroccan cities.
Officials in both nations claimed the network was involved in recruiting fighters for the Syria- and Iraq-based Muslim extremist group, also known as ISIS and ISIL, and had plans to carry out attacks in Morocco and Spain, according to news reports.
The arrests came just days after a heavily armed 25-year-old Moroccan man, who had lived in Spain, was apprehended following an attempted attack on a high-speed French train. But authorities did not publicly draw a connection to the incident and Tuesday’s arrests.
The French train incident occurred Friday when Ayoub El-Khazzani, originally from Tetouan in northern Morocco, opened fire on the French train, wounding one man before being dragged to the floor by three young Americans and a Briton. On Monday, French authorities gave the Americans and the “Legion of Honor” — France’s top award — for thwarting the attack.
With regard to Tuesday’s arrests, Morocco’s Interior Ministry said 13 people were detained in raids in several cities across the country, The Associated Press reported.
The raids occurred in Nador and Hoceima on the Mediterranean coast close to the Spanish enclave of Melilla, as well as Fez and Casablanca. The ministry said one of those detained had previously been arrested under the country’s anti-terror law.
A Spanish Interior Ministry statement said one person was arrested in the central town of San Martin de la Vega, just southeast of Madrid. It said the members of the group, whose leader was among those detained, maintained close contact with each other in Melilla.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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