Islamic State recruiter specializing in underage girls arrested in Spain

LANZAROTE, Spain, July 7 (UPI) -- A woman recruiting underage girls for the Islamic State was arrested in the Canary Islands archipelago territory of Lanzarote, Spain, on Tuesday.

The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, apparently had contact with a facilitator of the Islamic State. She received instructions on how to recruit and facilitate travel for underage girls to be given to the militant Islamist group in Syria and Iraq, according to Spain's Ministry of Interior.

The investigation and arrest was carried out in a collaborative effort by Spain's General Information Office of the National Police, the Police Headquarters of the Canary Islands and the Provincial Information Brigade of Málaga.

"The girls and adolescents recruited, mainly motivated by an absolute and seamless religious belief, once at their destination, mainly carry out activities such as being sexually exploited, performing home and hospital labor and performing functions of supervisory police enforcement in women's field," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Police said they investigated the woman's home and uncovered enough evidence that showed her willingness to join the Islamic State.

The arrest was part of a continued police investigation since August that resulted in the arrest of 10 people, including a minor accompanied by woman who were about to leave Spain for Morocco to eventually travel to Islamic State-controlled territory.

"This arrest constitutes a new case of women, who, having been born and raised in European countries and have undergone a process of radicalization that has led to their commitment and adherence to ideological jihadism and its integration into the Islamic State terrorist organization," the Interior Ministry wrote.

More than 40 people have been arrested in Spain this year accused of collaborating with or recruiting for the Islamic State.