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Rabat – The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) held a press conference today at its Sale headquarters providing details on the major foiled terrorist plot on February 19.
BCIJ chief Haboub Cherkaoui shared details regarding the ongoing investigation on the foiled plot, stressing that preparations for the terrorist attacks had reached an advanced stage, aiming to target 12 spots across Morocco.
Labeled “Khalifa Lions in Maghrib Al-Aksa,” the terrorist cell had direct links with an ISIS leader operating in the African Sahel Region, the BCIJ official explained.
The BCIJ operation, which culminated in the arrest of 12 extremists on February 19, followed nearly a year of surveillance and follow-up and prevented what the BCIJ head described as a “highly dangerous terrorist plot targeting Morocco.”
Operation details revealed
Speaking during the press conference, Charkaoui detailed how the BCIJ, acting on intelligence from the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), arrested the 12 suspects across multiple Moroccan cities including Laayoune, Casablanca, Fez, Taounate, Tangier, Azemmour, Guercif, Oulad Teima, and Tamesna near Rabat.
“The suspects had recently conducted reconnaissance of targeted sites in several Moroccan cities,” Charkaoui said.
“Search operations yielded ready-to-use explosive devices, materials suspected for manufacturing explosives, and knives.”
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Further investigations led to the discovery of a weapons cache in a remote area of Errachidia province, containing “two Kalashnikov rifles with ammunition magazines, two firearms, ten individual pistols of various types, and a large quantity of live ammunition,” wrapped in plastic bags and newspapers from Mali dated January 15 and 27, 2025.
Investigations are underway to unveil the source of the confiscated weapons.
One of the suspects had already “shaved his beard and prepared his passport,” revealing plans to join terrorist groups in the Sahel region right after executing the planned terrorist attacks.
Arrested terrorists profiles
The 12 arrested extremists, aged 18 to 40, share similar characteristics, especially the level of education.
“Eight of the suspects have not exceeded secondary education, three have only basic education, while one has completed only the first year of university,” revealed Cherkaoui.
Most members were unmarried and employed in simple, casual occupations. Investigations revealed they were in direct contact with a prominent ISIS leader in the Sahel region, identified as Abderrahmane Sahraou, a Libyan national.
Cherkaoui further detailed that “technical investigations revealed GPS coordinates for a weapons and ammunition cache prepared in the eastern border of the kingdom.”
“The cache was found after more than three hours of topographic scanning and combing, buried in an isolated place at the bottom of a rocky height.”
ISIS proxy strategy in Morocco
The cell’s operations show a concerning pattern of “remote-controlled terrorism” from the Sahel region, with local agents playing the role of ISIS proxy inside Morocco.
“This cell’s danger lies not only in its multiple targets but in being a strategic project for ISIS’s Sahel region to establish a branch in Morocco,” Cherkaoui said.
Under guidance from ISIS’s “Foreign Operations Committee,” the cell created a miniature committee responsible for coordinating terrorist plans, implementation methods, and relaying orders to other members.
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The operation signals a new trend among ISIS, and other terrorist groups operating in the Sahel Region, a strategy that aims to recruit local agents in Morocco.
The newly-found terrorist plot recalls similar patterns in past foiled terror plans. “The discovery of the weapons cache in the Errachidia region brings to mind the Amgala cell linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, dismantled in January 2011,” Cherkaoui noted.
Not only that, Cherkaoui mentioned, with no further details, the growing links between terrorist groups, separatist militias, and criminal groups, warning of the potential threat of such coordination.
Counterterrorism response
Today’s press conference pointed to how Morocco is facing dual external and internal terrorist threats, pointing to the country’s tireless efforts to curb the growth of extremism in its territory.
Cherkaoui spoke of the growing number of local terrorist agents engaging in the expansionist agenda of terrorist organizations active in the Sahel region.
“If all attempts by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and organizations that emerged from it, as well as those loyal to ISIS, have failed to gain a foothold in Morocco, the dismantling of this cell, just weeks after neutralizing the ‘Three Brothers Cell’ in Had Soualem near Casablanca, confirms that the Kingdom of Morocco is a central target in the agenda of all terrorist organizations active in the Sahel region,” Charkaoui noted.
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The foiled terrorist plans reflect BCIJ’s preventive approach and the vital role of international cooperation.
Speaking of the inclusion of citizens in counterterrorism, especially on social media, DGST Spokesperson Boubker Sabik noted the creation of a digital platform “Yakada,” through which citizens can report terrorist or extremist content they come across on social media.
Morocco’s vigilance against terrorism
The newly foiled operation reflects the North African country’s ongoing vigilance against terrorist threats.
“Morocco has been a pioneer in sounding the alarm at the international level regarding the strategic importance that Africa occupies in the agenda of terrorist organizations,” the BCIJ chief added.
Morocco’s security authorities have dismantled over 40 terrorist cells with direct solid links to terrorist organizations in the African Sahel region.
The series of operations, including the latest, are proof of Morocco’s ongoing efforts to combat terrorist threats, with particular attention to the growing influence of Sahel-based groups and their attempts to establish operational networks within the country, thus contributing to stability both on the regional and international levels.
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