Police have arrested a Moroccan boxing coach suspected of heading an Islamic State
(IS) recruitment cell, two members of which had already been detained for intending to commit terror acts in Europe, Spain said on Monday.
The man, who held Spanish residency, was detained in the northern city of San Sebastian and was said to be working on recruiting potential combatants in person and over the internet since 2010.
“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 ministry said.
The cell specialised in “sending foreign fighters to Turkey where they received instructions from Daesh to commit attacks in Europe”, the interior ministry said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for Isis.
AFP
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