RABAT: A Morocco prosecutor on Thursday brought seven new suspects including a Spanish-Swiss man before a Rabat anti-terror judge in connection with the murder of two Scandinavian women in the Atlas Mountains.
The prosecution asked that the suspects be investigated for “forming a gang to prepare and carry out terrorist acts, premeditated assistance to perpetrators of terrorist acts and training people to join a terrorist organization,” Rabat’s attorney general said.
The prosecutor called on the judge to place the suspects in pre-trial detention.
Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland were found dead at an isolated hiking spot south of Marrakesh on December 17.
The two women were beheaded, authorities have said.
Fifteen people, including the four main suspects, were brought before the judge on Sunday over their alleged links to the double homicide, labelled a “terrorist” act by Rabat.
The Spanish-Swiss man in Thursday’s group had been living in Morocco and was detained in Marrakesh over alleged links to some of the suspects.
He subscribed to “extremist ideology,” according to Morocco’s central office for judicial investigations.
The four main suspects were also arrested in Marrakesh and belonged to a cell inspired by Daesh ideology, Morocco’s counter-terror chief Abdelhak Khiam told AFP.
None of the four had contact with Daesh members in Syria or Iraq, he said.
The head of the suspected cell is 25-year-old street vendor Abdessamad Ejjoud, according to investigators.
He was identified in a video filmed a week before the double-murder, in which the four main suspects pledged allegiance to Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, according to authorities.
The killings have shaken Norway, Denmark and Morocco. Another video circulated on social networks allegedly showed the murder of one of the tourists.
Morocco, which relies heavily on tourism income, suffered an extremist attack in 2011, when a bomb blast at a cafe in Marrakesh’s famed Jamaa El Fna Square killed 17 people, mostly European tourists.
An attack in the North African state’s financial capital Casablanca killed 33 people in 2003.
7 new suspects brought before Morocco judge in slain hikers case
7 new suspects brought before Morocco judge in slain hikers case
- Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland were found dead at an isolated hiking spot south of Marrakesh on December 17
- The two women were beheaded, authorities have said.
Military coalition in Yemen condemns attack on commander’s convoy
- Al-Maliki also said the coalition is committed to supporting Yemeni security efforts and pursuing those involved in the attack and bringing them to justice
RIYADH: The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen condemned on Wednesday an attack that targeted the convoy of a senior commander.
The attack in the Jaoula area of Lahj governorate targeted vehicles under the command of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, who heads the second division of the Giants Forces.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said there were numerous deaths injuries and called the ambush “a criminal act that is contrary to all human and moral values.”
He said the coalition, which includes Saudi Arabia, will continue coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure the security of citizens and maintain stability, Saudi Press Agency reported.
He called for people to work with the Yemeni government and military authorities to confront any sabotage attempts or terrorist operations targeting the security and stability of liberated governorates.
Al-Maliki also said the coalition is committed to supporting Yemeni security efforts and pursuing those involved in the attack and bringing them to justice.
