REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MADRID -- Spanish and Moroccan police arrested four people accused of recruiting potential militants to fight in Syria and Iraq or to carry out attacks in Spain or Morocco, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

Three Spaniards were detained in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in northern Africa and one Moroccan in Nador, Morocco, as part of a joint operation between the two countries, the ministry said.

Including the arrests on Tuesday, Spain has detained 12 people with suspected links to Islamic militants (ISIS) so far this year.

In 2015, Spain arrested 102 people accused of connections to the Islamic State, more than twice that in the previous year as police stepped up security measures after attacks in Paris.