Spanish police arrest couple with links to Islamic State, son put in care

The couple were part of a group that supported and recruited Islamic State fighters, including individuals that had carried out suicide bomb attacks in Syria.

A Moroccan man and a Spanish woman with links to Islamic State were arrested in the southern Spanish port of Algeciras on Saturday as they were trying to leave for Morocco with their young son, the interior ministry said.

Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group Islamic State after a house search in Granada, southern Spain. (REUTERS)

The couple were part of a group that supported and recruited Islamic State fighters, including individuals that had carried out suicide bomb attacks in Syria, a ministry statement said.

The man’s brother had recently died in a suicide bomb attack and that was why the couple were travelling to Morocco in a hurry, the ministry said without giving further details.

Their son has been put in care, it said.

Authorities are searching the couple’s house in Granada and the investigation remains open.

Spain has arrested 18 people so far this year on charges of being linked to Islamist militants.