Spanish Government Arrests Two Terrorist Recruiters in Northern Spain

The Spanish Provincial Intelligence Brigades, in collaboration with the national police, arrested two recruiters and propagandists of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on October 11 in northern Spain. According to Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz, the two individuals detained in the regions of Gijón and San Sebastián were “fully integrated into [ISIS’s] structure.”

As the Minister explained, the two detained men, both of Spanish and Moroccan nationality, had pledged their loyalty to ISIS and were in direct and consistent communication with some of the heads and recruiters of the terrorist organization. Authorities did not specify whether or not the two suspects knew each other. However, both have been active on social media, praising ISIS, with contents that were described by the Interior Minister as extremely graphic and radical.

The suspect detained in Gijón had pledged his loyalty to the head of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and had created important recruitment networks online. The suspect detained in San Sebastián, however, operated more locally, recruiting in the “radicalized areas,” according to Díaz. The second suspect also focused on connecting with those susceptible to social exclusion or discrimination.

The October 11 arrest, conducted jointly by Spanish and Moroccan police forces, put a stop to what the Minister described as “potential attacks and threats to both Spanish and Moroccan national security.” The arrests of two other individuals in Morocco were also a part of this joint operation.

Although the most recent jihadist attack in Spain took place in 2004, when an al-Qaeda inspired terrorist cell set off approximately a dozen bombs in train stations near the capital, Madrid, the national police is becoming increasingly worried about new threats.

However, the Interior Minister concluded his announcement with a reminder that the Spanish police has remained an effective counter-terrorism force. He remarked that, since 2015, out of the 150 presumed jihadists identified by Spanish security forces, 120 of them have been arrested in the country.