Spanish authorities arrested 15 people Monday on charges that they recruited people and indoctrinated them into the insurgency inside Iraq.
Investigators have been observing the group since January. Without specifying an exact amount, Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said the group had sent 'several' people to Iraq to join the insurgency and fight against the U.S.-led coalition. Mr. Alonso also indicated the cell was in close contact with members of al-Qaeda in Iraq and was ready to send two more people over to fight 'holy war' against the U.S.-backed Iraqi government.
The police used agents specializing in Islamic terrorism and made arrests in Catalonia and Andalusia as well as in Spain's Balaeric Islands.
The nationality of the suspects was not disclosed although a report on the news agency Efe indicated that there were Moroccans, Ethiopians, a person from Ghana and one Spaniard among the 15 suspects taken into custody.
The Spanish government has arrested approximately 200 suspects on terrorist-related charges since September 11, 2001. Roughly half of those were suspects in the Madrid train bombings which killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,500. There are 26 suspects in Spanish custody for their alleged role in the Madrid bombings. Because of its geographic location, Spain remains an outpost for Islamic terrorists who want to reach Europe.
