Rabat – Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) dismantled Thursday a terrorist cell linked to the so-called Islamic (ISIS) in Essaouira, the Ministry of Interior has announced.
The dismantling of the four-member cell resulted in the confiscation of weapons and electronic devices, as well as a manuscript in which the members of this cell pledged their allegiance to the leader of “Daech,” another name for ISIS, and declare a “jihad” in Morocco called “the wilaya of the Islamic State in the Maghreb Al-aqsa [Morocco].”
The four detained individuals were preparing to carry out terrorist attacks in popular sites in Essaouira, according to the ministry. They also planned to expand the scope of their operations into other cities.
The suspects will appear in court as soon as the ongoing investigation of the public prosecutor ends, the ministry said.
The dismantling operation came following the efforts that have made to counterattack that threatens that target stability in Morocco, the ministry added.
Over the past few years, Morocco made many efforts to eradicate terrorism and thwart any potential serious threat exposed to destabilize the country.
In December 2016, the Head of BCIJ Abdelhak El Khiyame announced that his agency had managed to thwart 341 terrorist attacks over the past 14 years. He noted that since 2002, the BCIJ had dismantled 167 cells, including 46 belonging to ISIS. 2,963 suspected terrorists, 277 of whom already had criminal records, had been arrested and referred to the judiciary courts.
In February, the Wali and Director General of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that 50 of the 168 terrorist cells dismantled since the September 11 terrorist attacks had had connection to foreign hotbeds of terrorism including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and the Sahel.
