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Rabat – The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) and Spain’s intelligence services teamed up to dismantle an ISIS-affiliated terrorist cell operating in Nador, in Morocco’s Oriental region and the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Tuesday.
A statement from the BCIJ said that security services conducted a raid to capture two suspects in Nador. Aged 34 and 39, the two suspects are in custody for a judicial investigation to determine the ramification of the case.
Meanwhile, Spanish security services arrested nine other members active within the same terrorist cell in Melilla.
BCIJ and Spanish services seized several pieces of equipment as part of the joint operation, including mobile phones, and digital media, all of which were submitted to a laboratory as part of an ongoing investigation.
Preliminary data shows that the terror cell promoted extremist ideology through the “dissemination of speeches and digital content through computer systems or direct communication to recruit people to join terrorist organizations.”
The leader of the terrorist cell had links with another cell dismantled in December 2019 near Madrid and in Nador.
Morocco’s counterterrorism approach includes cooperation with international partners as part of its vision to strengthen global efforts to tackle terrorist threats.
BCIJ expressed satisfaction with Morocco’s approach, emphasizing that the Spanish-Morocco joint operation “illustrates the importance of cooperation between Moroccan security services and their Spanish counterparts.”
BCIJ concluded that the operation also demonstrates the need for security coordination to neutralize the intersections and links between terrorist cells that threaten security in both countries.
