Morocco Busts ISIS-linked Terrorist Cell
Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation
(BCIJ) has arrested 13 people, whose ages range between 22 and 44, on suspicion
of forming a cell linked to the ISIS terrorist group, the interior ministry
announced Wednesday.
During the raids, the authorities seized electronic
devices, knives, masks, manuscripts promoting extremist ideology and a document
in which the suspects have pledged allegiance to the ISIS leader, the ministry
said in a statement.
The suspects were propagating ISIS ideology and
plotting terrorist attacks in the country, it said, adding that they have been
remanded in custody for further investigation.
The network’s arrest came only two weeks after the
authorities broke up a three-member terrorist cell. The suspects ranged in age
from 18 to 31.
Since the Casablanca bombings in 2003, Morocco has
adopted stringent counter-terrorism measures by breaking up several extremist
cells and stopping potential attacks in France, Belgium, Denmark, and other
states.
In one of the most recent operations, Moroccan
authorities have arrested a total of 22 people in connection with the murders
of two Scandinavian tourists in mid-December.
They include four main suspects who belonged to a
cell inspired by ISIS ideology, but none of the four had contact with members
of the terrorist organization in Syria or Iraq, Morocco's counter-terror chief
Abdelhak Khiam told AFP earlier this week.
