Three held in Spain for terror financing to Al-Qaeda militants

Three people were arrested from adrid and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain for their suspected involvement in the facilitation of terrorist financing to Al-Qaeda affiliated militants. The Spanish National Police -- Policía Nacional -- supported by Europol, arrested three people. The suspects are believed to have used a non-governmental organisation to finance the activities of Al-Qaeda affiliated militants. "The suspects are believed to have used a non-governmental organisation to finance the activities of Al-Qaeda affiliated militants," said Europol, a European Union's law enforcement agency which is headquartered at Hague in Netherlands. They diverted funds raised in good faith by religious associations, under the cover of using them as humanitarian aid for Syrian orphans. "In addition to financing the activities of terrorist fighters, part of the funds were used to cover the costs of a school for orphaned children, which is involved in training future terrorist fighters," th agency said. The school focused on radicalising, providing combat training and encouraging orphans to continue the terrorist activities of their parents killed in combat. As part of the operational action, officers carried out four searches and seized cash, valuables, documents and technical devices which are being analysed by investigators. The agency was involved in the case since its early stages. It was facilitating the information exchange and providing operational analysis support. The agency said that the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) will support the analysis of the digital evidence seized during the day. Europol supports the 27 EU member states in their fight against terrorism, cybercrime, and other serious and organized crime forms. Europol also works with many non-EU partner states and international organisations. From its various threat assessments to its intelligence-gathering and operational activities, Europol has the tools and resources it