Rabat – Since 2002, Morocco has successfully thwarted over 500 terrorist plots, said the Central Director of Morocco’s Judicial Police Mohamed Dkhissi.
Speaking at the Global Congress on Chemical Security and Emerging Threats held in Marrakech on October 25, Dkhissi highlighted that Morocco’s counter-terrorism approach has allowed the dismantling of 214 terrorist cells between 2002 and 2021, bringing 4,304 suspects to court.
He specified that since 2013, 88% of these dismantled cells were linked to the organization of Daech, also known as ISIS.
The official recalled that the security forces who arrested 10 members of a Daech cell in 2016 had received foreign training. He also mentioned that these forces were prepared to carry out terrorist actions using handmade explosive devices carrying biological materials.
Morocco’s commitment to combating terrorism has resulted in the adoption of a number of international agreements as well as the construction of a sophisticated legal and legislative framework to meet the challenges posed by the terrorist phenomenon, Dkhissi emphasized.
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Morocco’s counter-terrorism efforts in recent years have earned it a spot among a select group of countries that have created a framework to deal with the danger of terrorism in its various forms.
The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) ranked Morocco among the safest countries in the world in its 2022 “Global Terrorism Index” earlier this year (GTI).
Held this year in Marrakech from October 24 to 27, the Global Congress on Chemical Security and Emerging Threats investigates non-state actors’ strategies, methods, and procurement procedures in face of security threats.
It also examines recent acts of chemical terrorism and explosive assaults, as well as efficient detection, prevention, and risk reduction measures.
The conference’s main objective is to find realistic ways to effectively detect, prevent, and disrupt the illegal acquisition and use of chemical and explosive materials.
