15 held in Spain terror crackdown

Thirteen are Moroccan and two are from Algeria, the statement said. The 15 are accused of spreading jihadi propaganda and of sending fighter volunteers to groups in north Africa and countries in conflict such as Iraq.

National Court investigative magistrate Baltasar Garzon ordered the detentions.

“The arrests are further evidence that Spain is part of the battle field of international terrorism,” said Jesus Nunez Villaverde, an expert on the Islamic world and director of the Institute of Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action, a Madrid think-tank.

The ministry said computer material, jihad propaganda and cell phones were seized in today’s pre-dawn raids. No arms or explosives were discovered.

Earlier, a National Police spokesperson said security forces had been watching the suspects for several months. The ministry statement said Monday’s operation was connected to one in January 2006 in which 22 people were arrested in raids against jihad-recruitment cells across Spain.

Since the 9/11 attacks, Spanish police have arrested hundreds of Islamic terror suspects, many in connection with the 2004 train bombings in Madrid, which left 191 persons dead.

A total of 29 suspects, mostly Moroccan, are on trial in Madrid for their alleged roles in the train attacks. The attacks were claimed by Islamic radicals to avenge the presence of the country’s troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In recent years, security forces have focused on rounding up suspected militants for allegedly recruiting mujahideen fighters and suicide bombers or for collecting money to finance al-Qaeda and linked groups abroad.

Many of the arrests have taken place in Catalonia, a region whose capital is Barcelona and which has traditionally had a strong north African immigrant presence.