Investigations led to discovering an arms arsenal hidden in three location near Amghala, 220 km from the Laayoune (Morocco’s south). It is made up of 30 Kalashnikov machine guns, 3 submachine guns, one 82 mm-flare gun, two RPJ 7 bazookas, arms ammunition, 66 arms strongboxes and other munitions,  Cherqaoui said at a press briefing.

    Investigations enabled also the seizure of topographic maps of the Moroccan-Algerian frontier, he underlined.

    The 27-strong terrorist cell includes a member of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) tasked by this organization to set up a rear base in Morocco where it would perpetrate terrorist acts, he recalled, adding that this cell, which is supervised by a Moroccan national living in Al Qaeda camps in northern Mali, planned to commit terrorist acts using bomb belts and car bombs targeting Moroccan and foreign security services in particular.

    He noted that the cell’s members attempted to hold up bank and money transfer agencies in Casablanca and Rabat to get funds needed to finance their terrorist schemes, stressing that the preliminary probe showed that the cell was trying to gather members of some previously dismantled terrorist organizations.

    The leaders of AQIM entrusted one of its members residing in northern Mali with this mission, he said.

    The smashed network planned also to send volunteers to the AQIM camps in Algeria and Mali for paramilitary training before returning to Morocco to carry out their plans by using the arms found near Amghala.

    The security services arrested four members of this cell in Figuig and Ahfir while they were trying to infiltrate the Algerian territory, he said.