Morocco: The arrest of 4 peoples having links to claimed ISIS assault conspiracy
The official Moroccan news agency MAP stated that special agents in eastern Morocco detained on Thursday four suspected ISIS-linked extremists with claims that they are charging to attack a military base and other sensitive targets.
MAP cited what a statement from Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations said: US intelligence services worked with counterparts in the North African kingdom to dismantle the cell in Oujda, on the border with Algeria.
According to MAP’s account, four people ages 24-28 were detained in distinct neighborhoods in Oujda. One man was found on the roof of his home, seeking to flee. The agents also seized large sums of money in European currencies and the passports of the four suspects.
Besides, authorities stated that the four initially scheduled to travel to the Sahel to join combat there. Branches of ISIS and Al-Qaeda are active in the Sahel, however; it was not clear whether the claimed ISIS relations of the detained individuals referred to a Sahel connection.
Otheriwse, Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations claimed that an ISIS leader trained them to carry out assaults in Morocco instead of traveling to the Sahel. According to the bureau’s statement, work to identify potential targets that included vital national structures, security buildings and military bases was in development.
The statement also said that the prosecutor’s office gave an order to make investigations for discovering other possible extremists having link to the conspiracy.
In fact, Morocco irregularly dismantles extremist cells. It has been reported in September that potential suicide bombers linked to ISIS were detained in four cities. It’s believed that more than 1,000 Moroccans have joined the extremist group between 2013 and 2017 while the organization seized territory across Syria and Iraq.
