Morocco and Spain launch new joint anti-terrorist operation
The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) under the Moroccan Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) arrested earlier this week "an active extremist element" in Farkhana, in the region of Nador, according to La Vie Eco.
The Moroccan media outlet stresses that this operation is part of a joint security operation with the Comisaría General de Información - the intelligence service of the Spanish National Police - which, in turn, has arrested other extremist elements in the Spanish city of Melilla, including an individual who has already been arrested in the past for terrorism cases in Spain and who joined terrorist organisations in the Sahel region.
The preliminary investigations carried out revealed that the persons arrested, within the framework of this joint Spanish-Moroccan operation, are influenced by extremist ideology, as well as participating in the recruitment of other individuals, as indicated in a DGST communiqué.
The Moroccan official note also stresses that the operation on Tuesday 19 December takes place in the framework of "exemplary and regular" security cooperation between the Moroccan and Spanish security services to meet the various challenges and, in particular, terrorist threats.
The person arrested in Morocco will be remanded in police custody under the supervision of the public prosecutor's office in charge of terrorism and extremism cases, in order to identify his possible links and terrorist plans.
This joint security operation is part of the current reinforced security coordination between the Moroccan and Spanish security services. This exercise confirms once again the relevance of the partnership in this area between the two neighbouring countries to tackle terrorist threats and also to boost bilateral cooperation with the aim of dissolving existing links between terrorist cells operating in both Morocco and Spain.
