Spain arrests four allegedly linked to Islamic State

Four individuals have been arrested in Spain and Morocco on suspicion of terrorism offences for sharing so-called Islamic State propaganda across social media networks.

Three men were arrested in Nador in Morocco, while a 31-year old Moroccan national was arrested in the Guadalajara province in Spain, on the outskirts of Madrid.

The Spanish police said in a statement that it worked with law enforcement agencies in the Kingdom in Morocco to target this group of individuals believed to be members of DAESH.

According to the Spanish police, the men used their social media networking profiles for propaganda purposes to recruit and indoctrinate others over a prolonged period of time.

The police carried out a search in the home of the man arrested in Guadalajara and discovered a series of videos which promoted “explicit violence by DAESH” and jihadi terrorism, as well as manuals on training to commit future attacks and guides on how to make explosives.

The messages praised Islamic State’s extremist ideology and threatened retaliation attacks after the death of the ISIS leader.

The police said the 31-year old, who was not named, used a several security measures to protect access to his online messaging services, including using several phone lines or using the internet via public networks.

He was also accused of organising late-night meetings in homes in Melilla and Moroccan cities to track the Syria and Mali situation while planning attacks.

“It is from there that he shared DAESH’s ideology in person and on line, and would recount anecdotes about the jihadi fighters who had left Spain and Morocco to conflict areas such as Syria or Mali,” the Policía Nacional said in statement.

Electronic equipment, mobile phones, masks, books and manuscripts full of extremist ideology was seized as a result of this operation.

The arrests come as part of a multi-agency approach including the Spanish central intelligence agency and the Policía Nacional, working with Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation.