RABAT: Special agents in eastern Morocco on Thursday arrested four suspected Daesh-linked extremists who were allegedly assigned to attack a military base and other sensitive targets, the official Moroccan news agency MAP reported.
US intelligence services worked closely with counterparts in the North African kingdom to dismantle the cell in Oujda, on the border with Algeria, MAP quoted a statement from Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations as saying.
Four people ages 24-28 were arrested in separate neighborhoods in Oujda. One man was found on the roof of his home, trying to flee, according to MAP’s account. The agents seized large sums of money in European currencies and the passports of the four suspects.
Authorities said the four initially planned to travel to the Sahel to join fighting there. Branches of Daesh and Al-Qaeda are active in the Sahel, but it was not clear whether the alleged Daesh ties of the arrested individuals referred to a Sahel connection.
Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations alleged a Daesh leader instructed them to carry out attacks in Morocco instead of traveling to the Sahel. Work to identify potential targets that included “vital national structures, security buildings and military bases” was in motion. according to the bureau’s statement.
The prosecutor’s office ordered investigations to uncover other possible extremists linked to the plot, the statement said.
Morocco sporadically breaks up extremist cells. In September, potential suicide bombers reportedly linked to Daesh were arrested in four cities.
More than 1,000 Moroccans are believed to have joined the extremist group between 2013 and 2017 as the organization seized territory across Syria and Iraq.
Morocco: 4 arrested for links to alleged Daesh attack plot
https://arab.news/9qftb
Morocco: 4 arrested for links to alleged Daesh attack plot
- US intelligence services worked closely with counterparts in the North African kingdom to dismantle the cell in Oujda
- Four people ages 24-28 were arrested in separate neighborhoods in Oujda
Qatar joins US-led Pax Silica Alliance to secure semiconductor and critical mineral supply chains
- Doha says participation in alliance will enhance its international partnerships in fields of semiconductors, computing, cybersecurity and digital technologies.
- Qatar is the second Middle Eastern country to join the US-led economic-security coalition, after Israel
LONDON: Qatar joined the US-led Pax Silica Alliance on Monday in a move described as a strategic step to enhance cooperation in advanced technologies and supply-chain security.
The alliance was launched last month in Washington with the aim of securing global supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence technology, critical minerals and digital infrastructure.
Doha said participation in the alliance will enhance its international partnerships in the fields of semiconductors, computing, cybersecurity and digital technologies, helping to boost the country’s technological capabilities and economic diversification efforts, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Ahmed Al-Sayed, Qatar’s minister of state for foreign trade affairs, and Jacob Helberg, the US under secretary of state for economic affairs, signed the Pax Silica declaration during a ceremony in Doha.
Al-Sayed said the world was undergoing a significant transformation driven by AI, rising energy and mineral demands, and rapid technological advancements.
He described the declaration as “a new milestone in the Qatar-US partnership, founded on trust, shared interests, and a unified vision for advancing stability and prosperity.”
He added: “Qatar recognizes that the currency of geopolitical power has changed. Sovereignty is no longer just about protecting borders, it is about securing the supply chains of the artificial intelligence era.”
Qatar is the second Middle Eastern country to join the alliance; Israel signed up in December. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK and Australia have also joined the bloc.
“In a region often defined by its fractures, Pax Silica marks a historic opportunity for the region to shift from political rivalry to economic interoperability,” Helberg said.
