Morocco Thwarts Planned Terrorist Attacks Of ISIS Members, Bombs And Firearms Confiscated

Morocco/ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/Mehdi El marouazi Region

JAKARTA - Morocco's counterterrorism agency thwarted plans to attack national and international targets in the country by terrorist cells consisting of 12 people who pledged to ISIS in the Sahel.

The operation emphasizes threats stemming from jihadist militancy in the Sahel, as groups linked to ISIS and Al Qaeda expand their activities in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The suspects, who were arrested in nine different cities, received orders from ISIS leaders in Libya, head of the Morocco Judicial Investigation Center Bureau, Habboub Cherkaoui, told reporters.

"The suspects, aged 18 to 40 years, are radicalized online," said Cherkaoui.

The group, which branded itself Singa Kekhalifah di Maghrib Al Aqsa (Maroko), planned a long-range controlled bomb attack.

Explosives and chemicals were discovered during the operation, in addition to arsenals including automatic firearms and pistols, in the southeastern region of Errachia near the Algerian border.

Weapons and ammunition confiscated were supplied by ISIS leaders through smugglers.

The operation confirmed that ISIS branches in Africa tend to internationalize their activities, Cherkaoui said, citing the relationship between terrorist groups and criminal networks as a real threat to Morocco and Europe.

In recent years, the ISIS branch in Africa has recruited more than 130 Moroccan fighters, Cherkaoui said.

Since its founding in 2015, the Judicial Investigation Center Bureau has dismantled dozens of militant cells and arrested more than 1,000 jihadist suspects.

The country's last jihadist attack came in 2023, when three people loyal to ISIS killed a Moroccan policeman in Casablanca.