Morocco stops an Islamic State cell from attacking

Moroccan counterterrorism agency reported Monday that it has stopped a 12-member Islamic State-aligned cell in the Sahel from attacking both domestic and foreign targets in Morocco. The operation highlights the danger posed by jihadist militancy in the Sahel, as organizations associated with al Qaeda and Islamic State increase their operations in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

The chief of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, Habboub Cherkaoui, told reporters that the suspects, who were detained in nine separate towns, had been following directions from an Islamic State leader in Libya.

Cherkaoui said that the suspects, who ranged in age from 18 to 40, had “occasional jobs” and that much of their radicalization had occurred online.

The gang, which called itself “the Lions of the Caliphate in the Maghreb Al Aqsa (Morocco)” was preparing remotely controlled bombings, he claimed.

“During the operation, a weapons cache containing automatic firearms and handguns was discovered in the south-eastern region of Errachidia, close to the Algerian borders, along with explosive devices and chemical substances,” Cherkaoui added.

The IS chief claimed that smugglers had provided the confiscated guns and ammo.

Cherkaoui stated that the operation “confirms that the African branches of IS tend to internationalise their activities” and that Morocco and Europe are at serious risk from the relationship between “terrorist groups and criminal networks.”

According to Cherkaoui, IS affiliates in Africa have enlisted around 130 Moroccan combatants in recent years.

Since its founding in 2015, the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations has detained over 1,000 alleged jihadists and dismantled dozens of terrorist networks.

The country’s most recent extremist assault occurred in 2023 when three IS supporters murdered a Moroccan police officer in Casablanca.