The alleged jihadist was reportedly arrested in Tangiers following a close exchange of information between the two security forces

The arrest of a jihadist confirms the close relationship between Spain and Morocco

photo_camera AFP/FADEL SENNA - A member of the Moroccan special forces guard stands outside the building of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ)

A joint operation between the General Commissioner of Information of the National Police and the Moroccan Direction Générale de la Surveillance du Territoire (DGST) has succeeded in arresting a Morocha jihadist in Tangier who intended to commit terrorist acts against Moroccan tourist enclaves.

A communiqué issued by the National Police states that this operation "has been the result of the close collaboration between the Moroccan Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) and the General Commissariat of Information (CGI) of the Spanish National Police".

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According to the note, the investigation began at the end of 2020, when the CGI detected that a suspected jihadist was on Moroccan soil. As soon as he was detected, the National Corps informed the DGST and close collaboration between the two security services began. After continuous assistance, the individual was identified and located.

After monitoring the activities he was carrying out, the alleged terrorist had been gathering information on the elaboration of explosives, with which it is estimated that they would have been used to carry out terrorist acts in tourist areas of Morocco.

The operation is part of the joint activities carried out by the DGST and the CGI, which have resulted in "the arrest of dozens of terrorists in the two countries over the last twenty years". 

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According to the National Police, this arrest "is evidence of the intense activity carried out by the CGI to fight against jihadist terrorism both within and outside our borders". 

Collaboration that does not stop

Since Morocco suffered a series of attacks in Casablanca in May 2003 and in Madrid in 2004, the two kingdoms have been working together to weave complex networks of anti-terrorist operations. In the aftermath of both attacks, Morocco and Spain have been engaged in continuous and successfully executed operations.

Despite the cooling of diplomatic relations between Spain and Morocco following the illegal entry of Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali into Spain without prior consultation with Morocco, joint terrorist operations have not abated. This was confirmed by Atalayar in the framework of the course "Terrorism and Antiterrorism in times of pandemic and post-pandemic" in which the commander of the Guardia Civil Fernando Huete, of the Special Central Unit of the fight against terrorism in the international sphere stated that "the anti-terrorist cooperation with Morocco is still in force. We continue to work together and exchange information between the two security forces, these relations have not been affected".

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In the same context, Jesús Pedrazo, the Commissioner of the General Information Commissariat, responsible for threats against constitutional order, stressed that "relations continue to be very close, there is excellent cooperation, it has not suffered as a result of the crisis. There continues to be an important exchange of information and intelligence".

Thus, the recent anti-terrorist operation confirms that police cooperation relations between the two kingdoms continue to be successful and efficient.
 

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