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
US envoy calls for ceasefire deal in northeastern Syria to be maintained
- Tom Barrack, ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, reiterates Washington’s support for Jan. 18 integration agreement between Syria’s government and Syrian Democratic Forces
LONDON: Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria, on Monday reiterated Washington’s desire to ensure the ceasefire agreement in northeastern Syria between Syria’s government and the Syrian Democratic Forces continues.
In a message posted on social media platform X, he wrote: “Productive phone call this evening with his excellency Masoud Barzani to discuss the situation in Syria and the importance of maintaining the ceasefire and ensuring humanitarian assistance to those in need, especially in Kobani.”
Barzani has been the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party since 1979, and served as president of Kurdistan region between 2005 and 2017.
The current present, Nechirvan Barzani, previously welcomed a recent decree by the Syrian president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, officially recognizing the Kurdish population as an integral part of the country.
Barrack reiterated Washington’s support for efforts to advance the Jan. 18 agreement between Syria’s government and the SDF to integrate the latter into state institutions. The SDF is a Kurdish-led faction led by Mazloum Abdi that operates in northeastern Syria and recently clashed with government forces.
On Saturday, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that the Syrian Ministry of Defense had announced a 15-day extension of the ceasefire deal.
