Morocco: 2 IS-Libyan Branch Members Arrested

Moroccan Interior Ministry has announced the netting in Casablanca and Had Soualem of 2 more members of the ISIS Libyan branch who are allegedly connected to the 10-men cell arrested in Morocco on March 24.

The two men were according to security accounts arrested on April 1 and 2 at Casablanca and Had Soualem following investigations related to the captured cell in the south of the kingdom, in the cities of Marrakesh, Sidi Bennour, Smara and Had Soualem on March 24.

The members of the cell believed linked to the IS branch in Libya were planning to join IS Libyan local franchise where they were to receive training before returning to Morocco to launch terror attacks.

The Interior ministry statement also revealed that the captured terror cell was in possession of serious and heinous plans to destabilize the kingdom through terror attacks against security institutions and strategic sites.

Some members of the 10-men cell were reportedly acting as liaison agents and provided to Moroccans eager to join the terrorist group in Libya.

A recent report by security experts pointed out that 500 locally based Moroccans have pledged loyalty to IS while 1,500 Moroccan youths have been fighting in the ranks of the terrorist group around the world mostly in Libya, Syria and Iraq.

Moroccan authorities are waging tireless war against Islamist extremists and fanatics. They have disrupted over 160 terror cells since 2002, and nearly forty over the past three years.

Morocco has become an important target for terrorist organizations after it emerged as one of world leading successful fighters of terror groups thanks to its effective anti-terror strategy and powerful intelligence service.

French authorities announced last month they would beef up their intelligence agencies and anti-terror squads by new recruits from Morocco and other Maghreb countries as the terror threat is increasing against France and the entire of Europe.

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