Marruecos detiene a cinco seguidores de Daesh en varias ciudades del centro y sur del país
The Moroccan authorities do not cease in their efforts to dismantle the cells and arrest all Daesh followers in their country. On this occasion, up to five cities have seen men aged between 20 and 45 arrested for their alleged links with the terrorist organisation. This operation comes precisely at a time when Rabat is receiving praise from NATO, while Germany is moving closer to the Alawi kingdom to join forces in the fight against the terrorist threat.
The cities of Casablanca, Kenitra, Sidi Yahya Zaer, Inezgane-Ait Melloul and Chichaua are the ones that harboured five suspected Daesh sympathisers. According to the statement issued by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), they had all pledged their "allegiance" to the organisation and were in the midst of preparing an attack on basic services and security forces. The operation has resulted in the seizure of weapons and ammunition, and some of those arrested were even in the process of training in explosives manufacturing.
Morocco, thanks to operations like this one, has been positioned for years as one of the world's leading countries in the fight against terrorism. Countries such as Germany have not hesitated to approach Rabat to reach agreements based essentially on the exchange of best practices and mechanisms for the targeting and early identification of extremists. The official communiqué from the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) also pointed to the detection of recruitment routes and the movement of fighters through their ranks among the tasks to be worked on in this cooperation initiative.
In this context, Javier Colomina Piriz, Deputy Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), stressed the "enormous responsibility" that Morocco wanted to take on with respect to terrorism. He did so during his visit to Morocco, during which he also wished to express the importance of the country presided over by Aziz Ajanuch, saying that it is an "indispensable player" and a "very important partner" for NATO. He added that the intention is to intensify dialogue with Morocco and make it "more regular and substantial".
The numbers are clear: Morocco has tightened its grip on any hint of terrorist activity and has done so exceptionally effectively. Since 2002, the Moroccan police have busted more than 2,000 terrorist cells and arrested more than 3,500 people in terrorism-related cases. Rabat has pursued a policy of detection that is resulting in the dismantling of numerous cells, such as the one dismantled in coordination with the Spanish authorities that resulted in 11 arrests in the cities of Melilla and Nador.
