MADRID, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Members of the Catalan regional police force (Mossos d'Esquadra) have made at least 17 arrests in the widespread operation against a suspected jihadist terrorist group in the city of Barcelona and a nearby town.
The Mossos confirmed on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon that the operation named Caso Alexandria has produced the arrests of 17 suspected jihadists.
At least 13 of the detentions took place in Barcelona, where 5 of the 6 searches were carried out.
Those arrested have been charged with terrorism, as well as offenses against property, public health offenses and belonging to a criminal organization.
The jihadist group was apparently preparing to carry out a terrorist attack. The Catalan based newspaper La Vanguardia reported that the "hard core" of the network was made up of "5 Algerians, all of whom have previous criminal records for theft, robbery with violence and drug trafficking" in Barcelona.
Tuesday also saw the Spanish National Police arrest a man in Malaga, southern Spain, after he had "sworn loyalty and obedience" to the Islamic State (Daesh) and "shown his firm intentions" to travel to the combat zone and join forces with Daesh and the Jihad.
