Detienen a tres hombres pertenecientes a una célula yihadista en Marruecos
Morocco is not living through its electoral hangover as calmly as it would like. The elections that left Aziz Ajanuch as the big winner have made the headlines while Moroccan society is under alarming attacks by terrorist groups. The recent attack on Moroccan truck drivers in Mali has been joined by the dismantling by Moroccan police of a jihadist cell loyal to ISIS suspected of recruiting followers, glorifying the acts of the extremist group's branch in Afghanistan and planning terrorist acts in the Maghreb country.
An official statement issued by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation - the anti-terrorist body, BCIJ - explains that the three men arrested, aged 21, 27 and 37, are Moroccan nationals and that their activity was orchestrated from the town of Errachidí, located in the southeast of the country. The internal intelligence body, the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance, carried out the operation that led to the arrest of the ringleader of the group, who, according to the authorities' investigation, was in charge of recruiting and indoctrinating new followers. To do this, he used a tent he owned to pray in because he forbade members of the cell to pray in mosques.
The note released by the official agency adds that the jihadist cell was targeting a person working in a public institution for a terrorist attack, although it does not give further details. The three suspects are already at the disposal of the police. Now, it is the turn of the authorities to investigate new terrorist branches connected to this one, and the possible actions they were planning against Moroccan society. In the homes of the suspects, paramilitary uniforms, manuscripts of apologia for ISIS and posters that point to the Islamic State of Khorasan - one of the branches of ISIS in Afghanistan - as a combat base have been found.
This new chapter highlights the danger of the existence of this type of group within Moroccan borders. Earlier this year, in June, another cell loyal to ISIS was dismantled by the Moroccan authorities. On that occasion, four people were in control of the terrorist branch operating in the Sidi Zuin column, located in the Marrakech-Safi region. According to local sources, in this case it was a cell preparing imminent attacks inside Morocco. Moreover, behind them, the head of the terrorist organisation planned to join the terrorist organisation's camps in the Sahel region.
The terrorist threat in Morocco is increasingly worrying at a very sensitive time for the country. The severing of diplomatic relations with Algeria leaves a big hole in the ties that bind North Africa and, moreover, in the supply of natural gas. The newly appointed head of government by King Mohammed VI, Aziz Ajanuch, has a complicated task ahead of him. In addition to steering talks with his allies - and those who are no longer allies - he will have to keep a close eye on the movements of organisations such as the recently dismantled Erracichi, which posed a serious threat to the country's security.
