Spain jihadists suspected of planning kidnaps, execution: Judge

Madrid, Apr 10: A gang suspected of links to the Islamic State group planned possible kidnappings, an execution and attacks on Jewish shops and public buildings in Spain, an investigating judge said today.

Judges in Madrid questioned the 11 suspects, including a woman and a 17-year-old, who were arrested on Wednesday in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region. Ten of were accused of belonging to the Islamic Brotherhood for Preaching Jihad, a group in Spain suspected of recruiting members for the IS insurgency, the National Court in Madrid said today.

An eleventh suspect was accused of possessing arms and explosives, Judge Santiago Pedraz said in a written ruling. The IS controls swathes of Syria and Iraq, where it has committed highly publicised abuses including mass kidnappings and executions.

Authorities now fear the jihadists may extend their attacks into Europe. "They were considering abducting a person in Spain, dressing them in an orange overall in the style of the group known as Islamic State, interrogating them and cutting their throat in order to broadcast it" by video, a source in the investigation told AFP.

AFP