Highlights
– Moroccan police arrested 15 suspects who allegedly belong to an AOIM and Afghan-linked terrorist network
– Morocco has disrupted four terrorist networks this year
– Network was planning attacks in several prominent Moroccan cities
– Arrests will likely lead to the identification of more terrorists in Morocco as police forces boost security in the near to mid-term
In mid-August 2008, Moroccan security forces rounded up 15 suspects, allegedly belonging to a terrorist network called “Fath al Andalous” (The Conquest of Andalusia). News of the arrests, however, was not released until August 29, 2008 after security forces successfully traced the network to the al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AOIM) and Afghanistan. Fath al Andalous is the fourth network Moroccan police claimed to have dismantled so far this year.
Last month’s arrests came during one of the most active times for AOIM in neighboring Algeria, when multiple suicide car bombs killed over 55 people. The latest crackdown, however, is likely to increase security cooperation between Morocco and Algeria, as former dismantled networks have all shown links to AOIM. In addition, we anticipate that the latest arrests will lead to the identification and targeting of additional militants in Morocco in the near to mid-term.
Dismantled Networks in Morocco
Upon arrest, local authorities stated that members of the group were in possession of chemicals and electronics “used in the making of explosives.” According to Moroccan police, members of Fath al Andalous were planning terrorist attacks in two of Morocco’s popular tourist towns, Marrakesh and Agadir. Although police did not reveal where the suspects were arrested, they said the network was present in several Moroccan cities.
Since January 2008, four terrorist-linked networks have been dismantled. The previous three major crackdowns included:
• July 2008 – Moroccan police arrested 35 alleged recruiters for AOIM in Algeria and al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), who were also accused of planning attacks in Morocco. The suspects allegedly belonged to a Salafist group, Salafiya Jihadiya, which in addition to AOIM also had links to al-Qaeda movements in Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.
• May 2008 – Moroccan police dismantled a network planning attacks in Belgium and Morocco. Two of the suspects have since been acquitted.
• February 2008 – Moroccan police arrested 36 people alleged to have been part of an Islamist network led by Belgian-Moroccan Abdelkader Belliraj. The network also had links to the AOIM (Previous Report).
Increased Security Crackdowns and Attacks
Last month’s crackdown came at a time when AOIM had reached a peak in terrorist attacks, conducting multiple successful attacks in Algeria. More than 55 people were killed over the course of two days in Algeria, when AOIM militants carried out three separate suicide car bomb attacks against a military barracks, police training school, and a bus carrying Algerian workers of a Canadian construction company (Previous Report). Additionally, the increased terrorist activity in Algeria was complemented with operation and expansion planning projects in neighboring Morocco.
The latest arrests are also a testament to one of AOIM’s missions stated in September 2006, when al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri announced that the al-Qaeda arm in North Africa was tasked with unifying splintered terrorist groups under the umbrella of the al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (Previous Report).
As a result, we believe that the development of other terrorist groups linking with AOIM will continue to occur and multiply in North Africa. In addition, as Moroccan security forces continue to draw ties between independent groups and AOIM in Algeria, we anticipate that Algeria and Morocco will engage in additional security and information sharing in the near-term.
However, terrorist attacks within Algeria will continue in the near to mid-term, and the potential for future attacks in Morocco will grow more likely in the interim.
