Concerns in Morocco over home-grown jihadists – The Arab Weekly
Concerns in Morocco over home-grown jihadists – The Arab Weekly
novembre 27, 2015
Moroccan security services raised the country’s terror alert to its highest level following the terror attacks in Paris and the arrest in Turkey of Moroccans suspected of joining the Islamic State (ISIS) has drawn attention to the North African country’s jihadist problem.
“The security services have been mobilised in sensitive areas of the kingdom to control the situation calmly. We always prepare for the worst scenarios,” a security official told Alyaoum24.
Morocco was part of the US-led coalition fighting ISIS jihadists in Syria and Iraq but Jordan’s King Abdullah II told Fox News in April that Morocco withdrew from the alliance.
Morocco had been a target of terrorist organisations well before the January attack on the headquarters of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.
“Morocco has always been a target of terrorist networks. Rabat has announced today (November 16th) that a jihadist cell was dismantled in Beni Mellal… We now hear such news almost every week,” analyst Mountacir Zian said.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said the four suspects arrested in Beni Mellal were at an advanced stage of preparing terrorist acts in the kingdom. “The alleged leader of this criminal gang had established contacts with the Islamic State leaders to get logistical support for terrorist acts,” it added.
