Islamic State recruiter detained at Barcelona airport
Arrest of man who arrived on flight from Mexico made last Saturday
Spain's National Police arrested an Islamic State recruiter last Saturday upon arrival at Barcelona airport.
An international arrest warrant was in force for his detention, and he arrived in the country on a flight from Mexico. The detainee, a native of Tajikistan, joined Islamic State in 2014.
The man is accused of being part of the Islamic State recruitment apparatus in Central Asia and of financing trips to conflict zones. He is believed to be involved in the recruitment of various people from the former Soviet republics, including an Uzbek citizen who ended up fighting in Syria.
He financed the travel of other people to conflict zones, mainly in Syria. Tajikistan's judicial authorities issued an international arrest warrant for terrorist-related activities.
Experts estimate that between 2,000 and 4,000 foreign fighters from Central Asia moved into the conflict zone between 2014 and 2015. A group made up mostly of people from Uzbekistan, many of them minors, gained some notoriety.