Spain arrests man in North African enclave for promoting Islamist militancy

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police arrested a Moroccan man in Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, accusing him of promoting Islamist militancy via social media, the Interior Ministry said. The arrest comes after a joint operation by Moroccan and Spanish police on Tuesday detained four people accused of recruiting people to fight in Syria and Iraq or carry out attacks in Spain or Morocco. Spanish police have detained 13 people with suspected links to Islamic State militants so far this year. In 2015, Spain arrested 102 people on the same charges, more than twice that in the previous year as police stepped up security measures after attacks in Paris. Spain was the site of one of Europe's worst attacks in 2004 when Islamist militants bombed commuter trains and killed nearly 200 people. Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's two north African enclaves, have been a focus of Spanish anti-militant investigations. In March 2015 Spain said it had dismantled a militant Islamist cell operating out of the enclaves that it said was ready to attack either Spain or other targets in Europe. (Reporting by Paul Day Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)