Police in Spain have made four arrests in connection with an online network believed to be recruiting young women to join Isis in the Middle East.
Two suspects were arrested in the enclave area of Melilla which touches on Morocco and the others were detailed in Girona and Barcelona.
The two people from Melilla were believed to be the leaders, creating and operating several internet platforms which spread propaganda, particularly for Isis, according to a statement from Spain’s interior ministry.
“In line with the strategy of the Daesh terrorist group, they focused on the recruitment of women who, after a process of indoctrination, would end up joining the terrorist group in conflict zones,” it said, referring to the Arabic name for Isil.
The ministry also noted that a number of young people had already started planning to travel to war zones.
One platform had more than 1,000 subscribers and another, on Facebook, had “a multitude” from Belgium, France, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the USA.
Authorities were trying to establish links between the two in Melilla and those in Spain’s northeast.
Spain has already dismantled a number of similar operations, especially in Melilla as well as Ceuta.
Spain believes about 100 of its citizens have joined the armed militants in Iraq and Syria. From the UK the number appears to be around 500 people while the French say 1,400 residents have either joined the jihadists in Syria or Iraq or were planning to do so.
