Story highlights Group was sending fighters to Syria, authorities say

Suspects were rounded up in raids early Friday

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.