Moroccan boxing coach detained after raid for allegedly recruiting for ISIS in Spain
A MOROCCAN boxing coach has been arrested on suspicion of heading an Islamic State recruitment cell in Spain on Monday.
Boxing coach arrested in Spain accused of running ISIS cell
The man was detained in the northern city of San Sebastian and was believed to have been working on recruiting potential fighters in person and over the phone since 2010, according to local reports.
The arrest comes after two members of the group had already been detained for allegedly intending to commit terrorism in Europe.
The Spanish interior ministry released a statement following the raid and arrest.
Police in Spain have arrested an alleged Isis recruiter
The accused was very active in finding new recruits and would approach young people at risk of social exclusion, easily influenced and emotionally unstable, and make the most of his position as a boxing coach to win their confidence
It said: ”The accused was very active in finding new recruits and would approach young people at risk of social exclusion, easily influenced and emotionally unstable, and make the most of his position as a boxing coach to win their confidence."
"The cell specialised in "sending foreign fighters to Turkey where they received instructions from Daesh to commit attacks in Europe”, the statement added.
Spanish officials also revealed the two other members had been arrested in November in Morocco and France after returning from Turkey, according to The Local.
ISIS fighters receive unemployment benefits from Denmark
The ministry said: “The leader of the cell was entrusted with the recruitment, indoctrination and dispatch of foreign fighters to Turkey where they were given precise instructions of the external structure of Daesh to commit attacks in Europe.”
According to Spanish authorities, 181 alleged jihadists have been arrested since 2015, when Spain upped its terror alert to four on a five-point scale.
However, the last major terror attack to devastate the country was in March 2004, when Al-Qaeeda-inspired militants bombed trains in Madrid leaving 191 people dead.