Morocco arrests 12 suspected jihadists in “highly dangerous plot”

On February 19^th, Moroccan authorities revealed 12 suspects had been arrested in a “highly dangerous terror plot” linked to the Islamic State.

According to The New Arab, The General Directorate of National Security and the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance made a joint statement, saying they had stopped the plot with simultaneous arrests spanning across nine cities.

All 12 Moroccan suspects had allegedly been “directly commissioned and instigated by a senior IS leader in the Sahel”.

The senior IS leader heads “a so-called external operations committee” that oversees IS activity “beyond the Sahara-Sahel region”.

Morocco has largely avoided jihadist violence in the past few years, although security forces often announce arrests they believe to have prevented planned terror attacks.

In January, Moroccan authorities reported they had foiled an attack due to occur near Casablanca, arresting four people suspected of having IS links.

Also in January, the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations chief Habboub Cherkaoui warned that jihadist groups could pose a “real threat to the kingdom.”Cherkaoui also said that around 130 Moroccans had travelled to jihadist battlefields in Somalia and throughout the Sahel region since late 2022.This comes at the same time as Trump approved orders to launch strikes against IS targets in Somalia.

The New Arab, Maghrebi