Morocco says arrests four Daesh-linked militant suspects

Moroccan security authorities seized a terrorist cell belonging to the Daesh in Tangiers, north of the country. (File/AFP)

• Anti-terrorism teams raided four separate areas in Tangiers
• Weapons, electronic equipment were seized during the raid

RABAT: Morocco on Monday arrested four suspects allegedly linked to Daesh who were plotting “dangerous and imminent terrorist” attacks, the judicial police said.
The four Moroccan men, all in their 20s, were detained in the northern city of Tangiers during a raid in which police fired warning shots, the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) said in a statement.
They were planning to “destabilize security in the kingdom... through terrorist methods inspired by operations” carried out by Daesh militants in Syria and Iraq, the statement added.
Bladed weapons and electronic equipment were also seized, it said.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised the ability of the security authorities in Morocco to thwart dangerous and imminent terrorist plots and to dismantle the terrorist cell aimed at destabilizing the security and stability of Morocco.
The Ministry affirmed the Kingdom’s support for the measures taken by Morocco to achieve security and stability and to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also praised the vigilance of the security authorities and said it stands with Morocco in all measures it takes to combat extremism and terrorism to preserve its security, stability and territorial integrity.
In September, authorities said they had dismantled a Daesh-linked cell and arrested five men accused of preparing suicide attacks against prominent figures and a security headquarters in Morocco.
At the time, BCIJ head Abdelhak Khiame told AFP in an interview that Daesh has “developed” in the Sahel-Sahara region due to conflict in Libya and in countries like Mali, which he said were unable to “control their security” situations.
“Terrorist cells and terrorism are growing in the region, but also organized crime networks, drug trafficking, (and of) weapons and human beings,” he said.
“All of this... makes the Sahel region, in my opinion, a time bomb.”
The Sahel covers western and north-central Africa.
(With AFP)