Despite condemnations from Muslims in the West, the Islamic State continues to have appeal for Muslims in Europe, as well as the U.S. and Canada. Its claim to have reestablished the caliphate clearly resonates.
“Spain and Morocco Arrest 9 on Suspicion of Terrorism,” by Dan Bilefsky, New York Times, September 26, 2014 (thanks to Twostellas):
PARIS — Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement officials have arrested nine people suspected of being part of a terrorist cell linked to the Islamic State, the Spanish Interior Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry said the suspects had been arrested in Melilla, a Spanish-administered enclave on the north coast of Africa, and Nador in northeastern Morocco. The Spanish media said that those arrested included eight Moroccan nationals and one Spaniard, who was purportedly the leader of the group….
Also Friday, the British police arrested two men suspected of plotting terrorist acts, a day after nine others were rounded up on suspicion of belonging to a banned Islamic extremist group.
In Spain, the leader of the cell was reported to be the brother of Zakaria Said Mohamed, a Spaniard who was suspected of fighting in Mali and whose arrest was solicited by the Moroccan authorities, the newspaper El País reported. The Spanish media said that the group leader had traveled to Mali and other conflict zones and was in charge of recruiting radicals for the cell. According to those reports, all of those arrested had been trained in the use of explosives and in handling arms.
El País said that Melilla had become a center of operations for jihadists and that investigators had uncovered three terrorist cells in recent months. It added that in March, the authorities discovered a group based in Melilla that had sent dozens of fighters, a majority of whom were French and Moroccan, to fight in Syria, Mali and Libya…./blockquote>