Rabat- In response to terrorist threats, Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) dismantled today a terrorist cell consisting of seven pro-ISIS extremists acting between Zaouiat Cheikh, Oulad Teïma, and Marrakech.
The Ministry of Interior issued a statement this morning announcing the arrest by BCIJ of seven pro-ISIS extremists aged between 22 and 32. BCIJ acts under the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance.
The first investigations revealed that the suspects were actively promoting propaganda for ISIS through campaigns praising the barbaric acts of the terrorist group. According to the ministry’s statement, the suspected individuals were involved in “gathering and recruiting young people to plan terrorist attacks which undermine the security and stability of the Kingdom, at the instigation of an ISIS leader.”
The arrest enabled the seizure of various electronic devices, knives, and electrical wires, in addition to written material released by ISIS and some of its branches, the statement said.
The statements noted that some members of the cell were linked to the pro-ISIS terrorist cell dismantled on October 14, 2017 in Fes. This operation enabled the seizure of firearms, live ammunition, and chemicals used to manufacture explosives.
The suspects apprehended this morning will be brought to justice at the conclusion of an investigation conducted by the public prosecutor is concluded, according to the statement.
Since the beginning of this year, BCIJ has carried out several operations dismantling terrorist cells and arresting suspects with alleged links to ISIS. Just last Monday, BCIJ arrested four suspects with alleged ties to ISIS in Casablanca, Nador, Tangier, and Tiznit.
