3 arrests reported as Spanish police crack down on extremism

Spanish police have arrested at least three people in a southern city for suspected links to religious extremist groups that have allegedly conducted violent actions, The Associated Press has learned.

Three members of Spain's National Police confirmed Tuesday that the operation was aimed at arresting suspected jihadists but declined to share more details because there could be more arrests. The three spoke on condition of anonymity.

The arrests took place in a central neighborhood of Almera known as Cerro de San Cristbal. The historic neighborhood in the southeastern Spanish provincial capital has narrow streets dotted by nightclubs and a mix of old and new buildings leading to the city's Alcazaba, a 10th-century fortress of Arabic origin.

Antonio Garca, who owns several apartments in the vicinity, told AP that several police vans and heavily armed agents had cordoned off streets in the area for most of Monday.

Taxi driver Angel Vlchez and Miriam Cortez, who lives nearby, separately confirmed that six police vehicles and about 30 officers, including many in plainclothes, have blocked access to several streets since early Monday.

Everything was blocked off, Vlchez said. The place is inundated with marijuana plantations inside houses, so I wouldn't be surprised if they found something else. A