Morocco dismantled a cell linked to the ISIS terror group's Sahel Province (ISSP). In simultaneous operations across the country, 10 suspects were detained.
According to a statement from the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, the operations seized bladed weapons, military-style clothing, bomb-making instructions, digital materials, and various chemicals. Additionally, a car suspected of being modified for use in a bombing or vehicle-ramming attack was also seized by security forces.
A search of a warehouse used by the cell uncovered butane gas cylinders and pressure cookers filled with nails and wired with electrical cables. Police said the group's attack plans were 'in an advanced stage of preparation'.
The last ISIS-linked attack on Moroccan soil took place in Casablanca in 2023, when three people killed a police officer.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the activities of ISIS and Al-Qaeda-linked groups in the Sahel region and West Africa. In neighboring Mali, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has exploited the vacuum left by the collapse of government control to seize towns and cities, and last November it besieged the capital.
Mauritania also faces cross-border attacks from these groups along the Mali border. ISIS and Al-Qaeda-linked groups have also expanded their presence in Burkina Faso and Niger.
Although Morocco has largely managed to stay out of the violence in the region, officials recently announced that 130 Moroccan citizens have been recruited by ISIS's Sahel Province (ISSP).
