Two Held In Joint Morocco-Spain Anti-Terrorist Operation

Spanish police arrest a man suspected of belonging to a militant cell that simulated decapitations in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda
Spanish police arrest a man suspected of belonging to a militant cell that simulated decapitations in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda
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Two Held In Joint Morocco-Spain Anti-Terrorist Operation

Spanish police arrest a man suspected of belonging to a militant cell that simulated decapitations in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda
Spanish police arrest a man suspected of belonging to a militant cell that simulated decapitations in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda

Police in Morocco and Spain said on Wednesday two people have been arrested in a joint operation by both countries' security services targeting "terrorists".

An ISIS group supporter "active between Morocco and Spain", was arrested Wednesday by special forces of the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance, in Nador, a Moroccan border town with Spain's Mediterranean enclave of Melilla, said a press release from DGST, the domestic intelligence agency.

It said he was being held in custody suspected of "terrorism", and added that an accomplice had been arrested at the same time by Spain's Civil Guard in the northeast Spanish town of Lleida, AFP reported.

A police spokesperson in Madrid confirmed the arrest of one person.

"It's a joint operation with Morocco which is ongoing. We have arrested one person on terrorism charges in Lleida," the spokesperson said.

"The two suspects were in touch with elements of ISIS in Syria, preparing to carry out terrorist operations in Europe," the same source said.

Morocco's DGST said investigators found that the two suspects had contacted an illegal immigration network to get false identity documentation.

In January, security services in Morocco said authorities there had broken up a militat cell linked to the ISIS and arrested its three members in a joint operation with Spain. A Spanish police source confirmed the Moroccan statement.

The North African country has been largely spared acts of violence by jihadist groups, but its security services often report crackdowns and foiled attack plans.



Mikati Says 'Danger is Threatening Us,’ 3 Days of National Mourning Announced for Nasrallah

A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
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Mikati Says 'Danger is Threatening Us,’ 3 Days of National Mourning Announced for Nasrallah

A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday that his country was facing the threat of danger, after an Israeli airstrike the previous day killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Mikati was speaking at an emergency cabinet meeting that he convened in Beirut upon returning from the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Mikati did not mention Nasrallah in his address, but his office later published a decision to hold three days of national mourning for Nasrallah

A new phase of escalation in the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah began Friday, when Israel targeted Nasrallah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in one of the largest blasts to hit the Lebanese capital in years.