Madrid  - Spanish police have detained eight people on charges related to Islamist terrorism, police said Tuesday.

Five of the detainees were held in Castellon in the east, two in the Catalan capital Barcelona and one in Pamplona in the northern Navarre region.

The detainees were suspected of collecting funds and recruiting volunteers for what they regarded as a Jihad or Holy War.

The two held in Barcelona were not believed to have links with a cell dismantled there in January which is suspected of planning suicide bombings against the city's transport network. (dpa)