From the BBC, Dec. 19:

Spanish police have arrested 14 people suspected of being members of an Islamist extremist group, with links to al-Qaeda.

The arrests were made in the southern towns of Malaga, Nerja and Seville.

Spanish police say they also detained a number of suspects in north-eastern Lleida and on the Balearic Islands.

They believe the suspects are members of the same group, dedicated to the indoctrination and recruitment of militants to send to Iraq.

The nationality of the 14 suspects is not yet known, but sources close to the police investigation say many of them have lived in Spain for a long time.

They are not believed to have been planning to carry out any attacks themselves. The Spanish authorities say the police operation is continuing and more arrests are possible.

This is the third round of mass detentions linked to suspected Islamic extremist activity in Spain in under a month.

See our last post on Spain, and the supposed al-Qaeda crackdown.