Moroccan security services have announced lately the arrest of 10 women with links to terror ISIS organization. It is the first time that female militants were captured in the North African country, a key ally of the West in the global war against terrorism.
According to the Moroccan Interior ministry, the cell was planning attacks in the country. It was operating in several regions including the cities of Kenitra and Tangier.
Investigators say that the brother of one of the women was involved in bombings in Iraq earlier this year. They found chemicals and bomb-making materials in one of the suspects’ houses.
The arrest of this new cell is part of Morocco’s tireless war against terrorism. The North African country has placed counterterrorism at the top of its priorities following the Casablanca terror attacks in 2003 and the subsequent attacks of 2007 and 2011.
Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), the judicial arm of the domestic intelligence service, has tracked militants since Islamic State seized large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014-2015.
Morocco’s counterterrorism strategy is based on vigilant security measures, regional and international cooperation, and counter-radicalization policies.
jihadistsAs the international coalition intensified its airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the extremist group started moving to North Africa and particularly to Libya where the jihadists have enhanced their influence and presence.
