Five arrested across Europe for links to ISIL
Belgium, Germany and Spain suspect they had formed cell
MADRID // Authorities in Spain, Belgium and Germany arrested five people yesterday who were suspected of forming a cell that spread propaganda and sought to recruit terrorists for ISIL.
The Spanish interior ministry said the cell, made up of four Spaniards and one Moroccan, posed a grave, concrete and continued threat to security in Europe.
It said the five worked for ISIL by spreading information on several internet sites, among them a Facebook page called Islam en Espanol (Islam in Spanish).
The site had 32,500 followers and was growing rapidly, the ministry said.
Two suspects arrested in Belgium and Germany allegedly managed the site.
Two other arrests took place in Barcelona and one in the North African Spanish enclave city of Melilla.
The ministry said the cell directed its activities toward young Muslims of northwest African background and sought recruits.
It also praised and encouraged ISIL attacks.
About 113 suspected extremists have been arrested in Spain since last year.
Spanish police had helped arrest 30 more in other countries, according to the Spanish interior ministry.
It came as the Nice prosecutor said multiple attacks in the southern French city have been thwarted since the July 14 attacks.
The European Union’s anti-terrorism coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, said that the new arrests showed how much the process of sharing intelligence was improving.