Rabat – Morocco’s counterterrorist authorities and police arrested on Monday a terrorist suspect in the region of Fnideq on the border of Ceuta.
At the time of the arrest, the 34-year-old suspect was in possession of various weapons, including machetes and knives of varied sizes, Spanish news outlet Okdiario reported.
Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security DGSN noted that they are treating the defendant as “an extremist” due to his connection with jihadists, as well as his implication in a crime “glorifying terrorism,” threatening and being violent towards people, causing damage to property and carrying weapons that could be a threat to the safety of citizens. In addition, the suspected terrorist had written documents that cited extremist ideologies.
The suspect, who had also been accused of threatening his own family, was arrested in a derelict building in the neighborhood of Sidi Boughaba in Fnideq.
The seized weapons were similar to those used in the Algeciras attack on January 25, the DGSN noted.
Since the arrest, the suspect has been handed over to the prosecutor’s office within the counterterrorism department, to investigate his suspected connections with jihadism.
Morocco has been lauded for its counterterrorism efforts. Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares recently reiterated Morocco- Spain’s bilateral efforts to combat extremism and reduce the flow of irregular migration.
The Spanish FM specified that the two countries have managed to “dismantle six criminal and terrorist networks over the past 18 months.”
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