Morocco Busts New Suspects Tied to ISIS Groups

(MENAFN- Morocco World News) Rabat – On Monday, Moroccan authorities arrested suspected members linked to the so-called Islamic State (), seven of whom were arrested in the city of and neighboring regions, while four others were apprehended in the Souss provinces.

In its December 26 edition, Moroccan daily Assabah reported that the three individuals arrested in Fez were suspected for their links to the ISIS members apprehended last month in the city.

The four other suspects were arrested in neighboring regions. One of them was arrested in , a town located 21 kilometers northwest of Fez. Another one was arrested in Taounate, a city in the north of the country in the Rif mountains, while another suspect was arrested in the city of Taza. The seventh was arrested in Sefrou, a city in central Morocco in the Fez-Meknes region.

Most of the suspects are craftspersons, wrote Assabah. The arrests were made by law enforcement of the General Directorate for National Security (DGSN) in collaboration with Directorate of Surveillance of the National Territory (DST).

Moroccan media reported on Monday, December 25 that police element of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) arrested on Monday in the provinces of Ait Melloul and Chtouka-Ait Baha in the Souss region, four other individuals suspected of their links with terrorist groups.

A young suspect living in the Azrou district of Inezgane was arrested as well as another suspect in the Chtouka Ait Baha province.

The four suspects were moved to Casablanca for further investigation to determine other possible suspects linked with ISIS and other terrorist groups.

Back in November, BCIJ made two arrests in connection with a Fez-based terror cell that was dismantled in October. The four-person cell was spread through different parts of the city of Fez.

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