Rabat – Moroccan security services arrested on Wednesday three ISIS-affiliated suspects for their involvement in the heinous murder of a policeman in the district of Errahma in Casablanca.
The arrest of the two main suspects took place in simultaneous operations in the city of Casablanca and in Fez, said a statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), adding that the third suspect was arrested in Casablanca in a subsequent operation.
Preliminary data from the investigation show that the suspects had recently declared allegiance to the emir of an ISIS terrorist cell and were plotting a series of terror projects to undermine Morocco’s security.
The terrorist plots targeted security employees, including the policeman who was the victim of the heinous murder.
The suspects confiscated the policeman’s duty weapon in hopes of using it to attempt a major “bank robbery” to finance their criminal acts, detailed the DGSN statement.
Investigations confirmed that the two main suspects were directly involved in the premeditated murder of the victim.
The suspects subjected the policeman to physical assaults with knives before they stole his private car and weapon and set his body on fire in a rural area.
They coordinated with the third suspect to destroy evidence by setting fire to the car of the victim.
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During the operations that led to the arrest of the three suspects, police seized weapons used to carry out the murder, and recovered the handcuff as well as d the victim’s duty weapon.
The DGSN’s statement concluded by noting that the suspects are in custody pending further investigations to shed more light on the case, namely to identify any other potential accomplices and to detect any possible links to international terrorist cells and organizations.
Moroccan police had opened an investigation into the policeman’s murder on March 2, several days prior to arresting the three suspects.
Preliminary investigation indicated that the police officer disappeared after the end of his shift on Wednesday, March 1, leaving behind his portable camera and his glasses which were found with traces of blood.
The investigation led to the discovery of the body of the deceased burned inside a sewer in Lkhadra, a village in the district of Errahma.
Abdellatif Hammouchi, the Director of Morocco’s national police and territorial surveillance (DGSN-DGST), granted an exceptional promotion to the slain police officer.
