Spain's Interior Ministry announced the arrests on Tuesday as part of a joint anti-terrorism operation to dismantle groups drafting foreigners. The arrests were made in Madrid and cities throughout Morocco, including Fez and Casablanca.

"The detainees were part of a recruitment network to send foreign fighters to enlist with the Islamic State terrorist organization that holds control of part of Syria and Iraq," the ministry said in a press release. "The operation is ongoing."

Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said in July that 126 Spanish nationals or residents had taken up arms with the group calling itself "Islamic State" (IS). He also said that 25 of those had died in fighting.

Moroccan police believe that 1,350 Moroccans have volunteered for IS, with 286 killed in combat.

Spain has ramped up security measures to prevent its young Muslim citizens from radicalizing. Police have led 20 anti-terrorism operations and arrested more than 50 suspected jihadists in 2015. The move follows the attacks in Paris in January, where Islamist groups killed 17 people.

IS launched a swift offensive to the north of Baghdad in June 2014, capturing large swathes of Iraqi territory. The Islamist organization used a similar tactic in neighboring Syria, where they swiftly seized land amid the country's ongoing civil war. The group is accused of crimes against humanity - including kidnappings, rapes, decapitations and ethnic cleansing - in the region under its control.

kb/msh (Reuters, EFE, AFP)