The Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), of the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST), has announced the arrest of a five-member terrorist cell.
The network’s members aged between 23 and 33 were apprehended on suspected links to ISIS terrorist organization.
Police have seized electronic devices, knives, and military uniforms during the raids, according to a statement issued by the Counter-Terrorism Bureau.
Based on preliminary investigation, the suspects who pledged allegiance to the ISIS’ alleged leader, were involved in promoting the terrorist organization’s extremist rhetoric. The statement also said the detainees had contacts with fighters in Syria and Iraq in order to benefit from their experience.
Security surveillance also detected the suspects’ involvement in the subversive agenda of the terrorist organization by planning to carry out terrorist and criminal acts inside Morocco.
The suspects will be brought to justice immediately after investigations are completed under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor.
Since the September 11 attacks in the US, Moroccan security authorities have broken up more than 168 terrorist cells and thwarted over 341 criminal plots. In addition, since 2013, authorities have arrested more than 45 terrorist networks with direct links to the war zones in Syria and Iraq.
According to official figures, more than 1,600 Moroccan citizens have volunteered to fight in Syria and Iraq.
