Suspected terrorist cell dismantled in Morocco

Moroccan authorities break up ‘terrorist cell’ suspected of planning to carry out IS-inspired attacks in North African kingdom.

RABAT - Moroccan authorities dismantled a "terrorist cell" suspected of planning to carry out attacks under the influence of the Islamic State (IS) group.

The cell’s 13 alleged suspects, aged between 22 and 44, adhered to IS propaganda and envisaged the execution of terrorist operations that undermine the security of the people and public order, said the interior ministry in a statement.

The suspects resided in several Moroccan cities, including Casablanca.

The operation conducted by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) resulted in the seizure of electronic devices, knives, balaclavas and books advocating extremist ideology, said the statement.

The anti-terror operation came five weeks after the grisly assassination of two Scandinavian tourists in southern Moroccan region of Imlil.

Twenty-two people were arrested in connection with the murders, including the four main suspects and a Swiss-Spanish citizen.

Morocco suffered a jihadist 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 economic capital of Casablanca killed 33 people in 2003.