Morocco dismantles a new Daesh terrorist command

Morocco has struck a new blow against the Daesh terrorist group. The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) announced the dismantling of a suspected new cell of the terrorist group following information provided by the services of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST).  

Moroccan security forces arrested four suspects aged between 25 and 32 for their alleged involvement in the preparation of terrorist plots aimed at destabilising the North African country, in a new blow against Daesh.  

According to a BCIJ statement, the police operation was carried out thanks to information provided by the DGST and took place in the early hours of Thursday morning, when BCIJ personnel arrested four citizens suspected of involvement in preparations for attacks against the North African country.  

These anti-terrorist operations targeted suspects based in Tangiers, Tetouan and Inezgane Ait Melloul. The entry into the homes of the detainees led to the discovery of electronic equipment, knives and documents relating to Daesh ideology. A manuscript on how to join the terrorist group's camps in the Sahel region south of the Sahara was also seized, according to official information. 

Also found were a set of documents on terrorist attacks carried out by Daesh, calls by the terrorist group for various people to join in order to fight with the terrorist group and rules followed within the jihadist organisation.  

The BCIJ statement points out that the alleged terrorists swore allegiance to the ISIS caliph and allegedly expressed their intention to carry out terrorist projects targeting vital installations and security institutions of the Moroccan state through individual terrorist actions. 

The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation confirmed that investigations indicated that one of the suspects had initially conducted exercises in mountainous and wooded areas in preparation for a terrorist action.  

According to the same source, preliminary information indicates that one of the suspects tried to join one of the Daesh affiliates, especially related to the Sahel and Sahara region.

The four arrested persons were taken into custody pending the investigation conducted by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation under the supervision of the Prosecutor's Office in charge of terrorism cases, in order to clarify the alleged terrorist plans and to look for other links that may pose a threat. 

In this way, Morocco remains steadfast in the fight against terrorism, being one of the main bastions of containment of jihadism and radical extremism, collaborating with countries such as Spain, a neighbour and strategic ally, and the United States, an international power that has the Moroccan kingdom as one of its main partners in the Maghreb in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Indeed, intelligence and military cooperation is close between the Moroccan and US nations.  

This latest security operation is part of the Moroccan security forces' successful pre-emptive strikes in recent years to counter terrorist threats.