Six men suspected of belonging to a cell that recruits Islamist radical volunteers for suicide attacks in Iraq and other countries were held in custody in Madrid on terrorism charges on Saturday.

They were carrying out "operations of proselytism and recruitment of people who after the necessary indoctrination would have been sent to 'Islamist' conflict zones," local media reports quoted judge Fernando Andreu as saying.

Spanish police arrested 16 terror suspects in a wave of raids early this week in the eastern Catalonia region, Andalusia in the south and on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. Two others gave themselves up to police in Andalusia.

The judge freed 12 other suspects but ordered them to report to the court weekly.

Andreu said the recruiting cell was led by Iraqi man Hiyag Maan, 25, who was among the six held in custody. He was said to have links to Abu Mussab Al-Zarkawi, head of the Iraqi branch of the al-Qaida network.

Andreu said the charges, though preliminary and which stop short of a formal indictment, allow the judge to keep the suspects in prison for up to three years while the investigation continues.

Source: Xinhua