Rabat – Moroccan security forces arrested 25 people this month on suspicion of supporting the Islamic State group and planning “terrorist” attacks in the kingdom, a security source told AFP on Saturday.
The arrests took place in several cities on December 8 as part of “ongoing efforts to fight terrorist dangers”, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Some of the suspects have already been referred to the judiciary, the source added.
Moroccan news outlets had reported a nationwide counter-terror operation on December 8 – the largest of its kind in recent years – but official sources had not confirmed the crackdown.
Reports on Saturday said that during the operations, authorities seized weapons including firearms and ammunition, as well as documents on bomb-making and material “glorifying the Islamic State group”.
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They said investigations revealed the suspects were planning to carry out “specific” terrorist attacks inside Morocco.
Counter-terrorism police said Friday that they had thwarted a suspected IS bomb plot and arrested an alleged supporter of the group, in cooperation with US intelligence services.
The security source told AFP the operation had “no connection” to the arrests earlier this month.
On October 6, counter-terrorism police announced the dismantling of a “terror cell” in the northern city of Tangiers and the arrest of five suspects accused of plotting bomb attacks.
Since 2002, Moroccan police say they have dismantled 2 000 “terror cells” and arrested 3,500 people in cases linked to terror, according to figures published in February.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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