News
Tuesday 26 May 2015

Authorities Arrest New Member of IS-linked Terrorist Cell Operating in Casablanca & Boujniba

Vocal synthesis
Authorities Arrest New Member of IS-linked Terrorist Cell Operating in Casablanca & Boujniba

Authorities arrested, on Monday in Casablanca, a new member of the recently busted terrorist cell in Casablanca and Boujniba (150 km southeast of Casablanca) involved in the recruitment of Moroccan fighters for the Islamic State (IS) Organization in Syria and Iraq, the Interior Ministry said.

Investigations led by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), an offshoot of Morocco’s domestic intelligence agency (DGST), found that the suspect is involved in terrorist activities of the IS-related cell that was dismantled on May 19, the Ministry said in a statement.

 Investigations also showed that the terrorist cell was plotting dangerous criminal schemes, including the establishment of a rear base in mountainous regions wherefrom they would launch their terrorist operations in the Kingdom, the same source said.

The arrested members of the cell, who did not succeed in joining the camps  of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in northern Mali in 2011, plotted to perpetrate attacks against military barracks, police and gendarmerie stations as well as other security forces in order to seize weapons and use them later in criminal schemes, adds the statement.

The ten-members of the terrorist cell maintained close links with Moroccan fighters in the IS organization with whom they were plotting to create dormant cells in the Kingdom.

With financial and logistical support from IS leaders, these dormant cells were intended to be reinforced by Moroccan fighters who received military training in IS camps with the aim to perpetrate terrorist attacks on key Moroccan facilities. 

The arrested members of the cell will be brought before justice upon completion of investigations under the supervision of the General Prosecutor.

MAP 26 May 2015