Spanish and Moroccan police have arrested nine people suspected of belonging to a militant cell linked to Islamic State, Spain's Interior Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said the nine belonged to a group based in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, on the northern coast of Africa, and neighbouring Nador, Morocco.

Spanish media reported that one of those arrested was Spanish and the rest were Moroccan nationals. The Interior Ministry declined to comment, adding the investigation was still underway.

Another two men were arrested in Britain on Friday as part of an operation into Islamist-related militancy as lawmakers prepared to approve Prime Minister David Cameron's plan to join U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq.

The two men, who were not named, were arrested on the M6 motorway in England by counter terrorism officers, bringing the total number of people detained in the British operation to 11 over just two days.

Spain has denounced the threat to security posed by Islamic State, and is supporting a coalition to fight the group though it has not taken an active role militarily in Iraq or Syria.