Counter-terrorism: Morocco captures another three ISIS operatives

RABAT, 09 Jan. - (ANA) - Moroccan authorities announced on Tuesday the arrest of three members of the ISIS terror group who were operating in the cities of Nador and Driouch, in eastern Morocco.

Aged between 18 to 31, the arrested jihadists were planning terrorist attacks to undermine the security and stability of the North African Kingdom.

This home-grown terror cell was dismantled by Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ). Search carried out in their homes led to the seizure of knives, hunting rifles, military suits, firearms, extremist propaganda documents, batteries, and electric wires.

According to the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior, the dismantling of this new cell shows that the country is still facing terrorist threats and there are some fanatics who have been indoctrinated by extremist ideology and stand ready to execute ISIS’s agenda.

Morocco has a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that includes vigilant security measures, regional and international cooperation, and counter-radicalisation policies.

The Moroccan authorities have placed counterterrorism at the top of their security priorities following the Casablanca terror attacks in 2003 and the two subsequent attacks of 2007 and 2011.

Morocco’s counterterrorism efforts mitigated the risk of terrorism, but the country continues to face threats, largely from numerous small, independent violent extremist cells.

AB/ANA/09 January 2019 - - -