Four women and a man were arrested in Spain, and two other men, including the leader of the group, were arrested in the Moroccan town of of Findeq, the statement said.

Two of the detainees are women who were about to join up with the Islamic Republic of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Spanish daily El Pais reported.

“The detainees are charged with being part of a network to find, recruit and send women to the Syrian-Iraqi front to serve the terrorist organization DAESH (ISIL's acronym in Arabic language),” the statement said.

Since the start of the conflict in Syria, foreign fighters from various European countries have joined terrorist groups in conflict-striken areas.

In October, Spain's Interior Ministry said approximately 50 Spanish citizens have joined various groups in Syria and Iraq. Most of the foreign fighters are from the Spanish-speaking enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco.