Marruecos y España desarticulan una célula vinculada a Daesh en Melilla y Nador

The fight against terrorism does not cease in North Africa. Morocco continues to expand its efforts to eradicate the extremist threat and, on this occasion, has managed, with the collaboration of Spain, to dismantle a cell loyal to Daesh. The autonomous city of Melilla and the Moroccan city of Nador have witnessed the arrest of 11 people who, according to a communiqué from the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), "intensely disseminated an extremist discourse inciting to join the terrorist organisation".

Of the 11 detainees, nine of them were arrested by the Spanish National Police in Melilla, which borders Nador. The other two were arrested by a special force of the Moroccan Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance in the city of the Rif. Among the devices seized in the operation were computers, mobile phones and SIM cards, among others. The Moroccan police stated that this organisation was "advocating extremist ideology by disseminating speeches and digital content through computer material and direct communication".

Moreover, the leader of this cell has close links with another cell that was also dismantled in a joint operation by Spanish and Moroccan forces in 2019. On that occasion, the cities where both operations took place were Nador itself and a town on the outskirts of Madrid. The dismantling of a new terrorist cell thanks to the coordination of the Spanish and Moroccan police is a good example of, as the official note of the BCIJ points out, "the need for coordination in security matters to neutralise the intersections and links between terrorist cells that threaten the security of both countries".

This new episode in the fight against extremism is nothing new for Morocco, which has accumulated several successful operations in recent months. Less than a week ago, a suspected jihadist was arrested in Casablanca by agents of the Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST). On that occasion, it was the United States that collaborated with Rabat to capture the suspected member of a "terrorist project" aimed at attacking Morocco. In addition, the BCIJ reported the intentions of the detainee who was preparing to join the ranks of Daesh in conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria.

Since 2002, the Alawi kingdom has managed to dismantle more than 2,000 terrorist cells and arrest more than 3,500 people linked to their activity. Thus, Morocco has prevented countless terrorist attacks thanks to what is one of its strengths: security. Rabat has pursued a highly efficient detection policy that is resulting in the dismantling of numerous cells, as well as the Kingdom's intense judicial activity in terms of prosecuting terrorists.