An anti-terrorist operation took place in Spain and Morocco on Tuesday. Thanks to the cooperation between the Moroccan and Spanish police, 13 people were arrested in both countries for alleged links to a jihadist terrorist network.
According to Spanish news sources, it is one of the largest counter-terrorist operations in recent years. On Tuesday morning, October 4, La Policia Nacional searched several houses. As a result, they arrested ten people in Melilla and one person in Granada. Furthermore, Morocco’s national police units arrested two more people in the city of Nador.
🚩Detenidas 11 personas en #Melilla (10) y #Granada (1) acusadas de adoctrinar a jóvenes en los postulados de #DAESH
Operación conjunta con #Marruecos, donde han arrestado a dos personas más, contra el terrorismo #yihadista
Con la colaboración de @Europol y el CNI pic.twitter.com/EBsb1R3c2l
— Policía Nacional (@policia) October 6, 2022
The detainees arrested on Spanish soil were brought to Madrid the same day to be handed over to the Audiencia Nacional in the Spanish capital.
Expansion of terrorist network in Spain and Morocco was the goal of detainees
The investigation is still ongoing and is coordinated by the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid. Information released by Spanish and Moroccan services so far is that all detainees are members of a terrorist cell. And that furthermore, they have contributed in the distribution of speeches and digital content of an extremist nature. The aim, according to Spanish and Moroccan police forces, was to recruit people to join the jihadist terrorist organisation.
Also read: Suspected Jihadist radicaliser arrested in Alicante in June
Politicians and police chiefs praise cooperation between Spain and Morocco
According to the Moroccan Central Bureau for Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), mobile phones, and computers were seized during the searches. SIM cards and other digital media was also found. Minister Grande Marlaska of Foreign Affairs in Spain and Police Chief Togores van Melilla praised the cooperation between Spain and Morocco.
Both men were impressed by the effectiveness of the national police of Morocco and Spain in cooperation with other agencies, including Europol, in the relentless fight against terrorism.
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