13 extremists loyal to the Islamic State were arrested in cities, including Tangiers

The Central Office for Judicial Investigations of the General Directorate of National Territory Surveillance, in close coordination with the state services of the judicial police, managed, today, Thursday, to arrest 13 people loyal to the so-called “Islamic State” terrorist organization, between the ages of 19 and 49.

A statement by the office indicated that the Public Prosecution Office in charge of terrorism and extremism cases had directly supervised the procedures for intervention and the arrest of suspects, in security operations that included the cities of Casablanca, Beni Mellal, Mohammedia, Khenifra, Temara, Tiflet, Tangiers, Ksar Kebir, Rissani and Berkane.

The searches carried out in the homes of the detainees resulted in the seizure of a set of digital equipment and props that will be subjected to the necessary technical expertise, in addition to written publications that include speeches by extremist ideologues and publications that allow suicide operations and incite violence.

The preliminary data of the research indicates, the communication adds, that some of the suspects were involved in preparing to implement sabotage projects that targeted vital and sensitive national facilities, in addition to security elements and institutions within the framework of “individual terrorism” operations, as they were actually involved in the material preparation of these schemes by monitoring and identifying Objectives, in parallel with conducting extensive research in order to obtain information on how to manufacture explosives.

Investigations also revealed that some of the suspects were able to weave suspicious relationships with terrorist elements outside Morocco, with the aim of coordinating to join one of the branches of the “ISIS” organization, especially in the Sahel and Sahara region.

The arrested persons have been kept in theoretical custody, pending the judicial investigation conducted by the Central Office for Judicial Investigations under the supervision of the competent Public Prosecution, in order to uncover all their terrorist plots and projects, and to monitor potential regional and international intersections and connections with terrorist organizations outside Morocco.