Five people suspected of "
belonging to a terrorist organization
" were arrested in Barcelona and Madrid, Spanish police announced Wednesday (October 13th).
Four of these five "
suspected jihadists
" were arrested in Barcelona between January and March and a fifth in Madrid in recent days, according to the police who opened their investigation last December after having "
detected the entry into Spain of a suspected member of the Islamic State
”.
This man, an Algerian, and two of his compatriots, had been arrested in January in Barcelona.
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According to the police, this group was under the control of a fourth man whom they called "
Sheikh
" and who is accused of "
active indoctrination
". Already arrested in 2016 in Turkey while trying to join the Islamic State (IS) group, this individual was released and traveled to several countries before being arrested in March in Barcelona.
It was the attempted purchase of a Kalashnikov assault rifle by this group that triggered the operation, police said without giving further details.
During searches carried out at the home of the alleged leader of the group, several machetes were found as well as several dozen cartridges.
Contacted by AFP, the Spanish police did not provide more details on the arrest of the fifth man in Madrid.