( CNN ) -- Security forces arrested eight members of a group linked to al Qaeda on Friday in a Spanish enclave in North Africa , authorities said . `` We have broken up a network responsible for sending combatants to al Qaeda-linked terrorist groups operating in Syria , '' the Spanish Interior Ministry said in a statement . The suspects were captured in Ceuta , a Spanish enclave that borders Morocco . Authorities said the network was based in Ceuta and the nearby Moroccan city of Fnideq . It recruited , trained and paid for terrorists to fight in other countries .
Group was sending fighters to Syria , authorities say . They were caught up in clashes early Friday .