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| Al-Qaida linked operatives arrested in Spain, says minister | Al-Qaida linked operatives arrested in Spain, says minister |
| (3 months later) | |
| Spanish police have arrested eight men who formed part of a terrorist recruitment network that sent 50 men to carry out attacks for al-Qaida-linked groups in Syria, the interior minister said on Saturday. | Spanish police have arrested eight men who formed part of a terrorist recruitment network that sent 50 men to carry out attacks for al-Qaida-linked groups in Syria, the interior minister said on Saturday. |
| Jorge Fernández Diaz said the arrests in the Spanish north African enclave of Ceuta had disbanded and "neutralised" the network. | Jorge Fernández Diaz said the arrests in the Spanish north African enclave of Ceuta had disbanded and "neutralised" the network. |
| Fernández Diaz said those who went to Syria had fought against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and some had taken part in suicide bombings. He said 12 of the 50 militants who went to Syria had been recruited in Ceuta and the rest in Morocco, adding that some had been minors. | Fernández Diaz said those who went to Syria had fought against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and some had taken part in suicide bombings. He said 12 of the 50 militants who went to Syria had been recruited in Ceuta and the rest in Morocco, adding that some had been minors. |
| "We are not talking of combatants, soldiers, in the war in Syria, but of the capture of jihadists whose sole end was to carry out terrorist attacks," he said. | "We are not talking of combatants, soldiers, in the war in Syria, but of the capture of jihadists whose sole end was to carry out terrorist attacks," he said. |
| He said that recruits were given training and finance by the network, which had two bases, one in Ceuta and the other in Morocco. | He said that recruits were given training and finance by the network, which had two bases, one in Ceuta and the other in Morocco. |
| Once trained to a point where they would be able to carry out terrorist attacks, the recruits were taken to Turkey, where they were transported to the border with Syria before being "introduced to the conflict zones." | Once trained to a point where they would be able to carry out terrorist attacks, the recruits were taken to Turkey, where they were transported to the border with Syria before being "introduced to the conflict zones." |
| He said police had been able to determine that the network's recruits had gone on to perpetrate terror attacks as part of the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra organisation and also the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, a Sunni extremist group. | He said police had been able to determine that the network's recruits had gone on to perpetrate terror attacks as part of the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra organisation and also the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, a Sunni extremist group. |
| Fernández Diaz said that when members who had been involved in terror attacks in Syria returned to Europe they remained a threat to security, some as potential "lone wolf" terrorist who needed to be arrested. | Fernández Diaz said that when members who had been involved in terror attacks in Syria returned to Europe they remained a threat to security, some as potential "lone wolf" terrorist who needed to be arrested. |
| He said these types of militants were highly radicalised and trained to continue with the jihad or holy war on an individual scale that was "a real and serious threat to our security." | He said these types of militants were highly radicalised and trained to continue with the jihad or holy war on an individual scale that was "a real and serious threat to our security." |
| The identities of those arrested were not revealed. | The identities of those arrested were not revealed. |
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