Spanish police arrest eight ISIL-linked jihadists

Spanish police arrested eight people in raids in Madrid against a jihadist recruitment network led by Lahcen Ikassriem, a Moroccan who was extradited to Spain in 2005 after being held at Guantanamo Bay, the government said.

Police have so far launched 12 raids in the Spanish capital, detaining eight people, and the investigation remains open, Spain's interior ministry said in a statement.

The Islamic cell found and despatched recruits for ISIL militants based in Syria and Iraq, the ministry said.