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Spain arrests 4 suspected ISIL members

Spanish police forces (File photo)

Spanish police forces have arrested four people on suspicion of recruiting militants for the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group mainly operating in Syria and Iraq.

According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, two people were apprehended on Tuesday in the Spanish north African territory of Melilla, while two others were arrested in the northeastern region of Catalonia.

The ministry has not revealed any further details on the identity of the four. However, it said the two detainees in Melilla used Internet and social media to  indoctrinate the youth, especially women, to join the terrorist group.

Spain has recently ratcheted up its security measures and efforts to prevent the radicalization of its youth following a spate of terror attacks in Paris earlier this month that left 17 people dead.

Over the past several years, dozens of suspected Takfiri terrorists and recruiters have been detained in Spain and Morocco, especially around the cities of Melilla and Ceuta.

Spain, along with several other European countries, is trying to discourage its young citizens from going to Syria or Iraq, where they join the ranks of Takfiri terrorist groups as Madrid fears they might come back to launch attacks on the Spanish soil.

The ISIL militants currently control swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq. They have carried out heinous atrocities in both countries, including mass executions and beheadings.

According to the US National Counter-terrorism Center (NCTC), more than 20,000 foreign militants from over 90 countries, including at least 3,400 people from Western states and more than 150 Americans, have traveled to Syria to join militants groups operating in Syria.

HJM/GHN/HMV


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