Morocco has dismantled a seven-member terrorist cell linked to ISIS that was planning to abduct and murder tourists, the Interior Ministry said.
The suspects, whose identities were not revealed, had pledged allegiance to ISIS, the ministry said in a statement carried by the MAP news agency. They were planning to “abduct and physically liquidate” tourists at seaside resorts, the statement added.
The suspects had undertaken “intensive paramilitary training” in a mountainous region of Morocco, according to the Interior Ministry. The June 11, 2015, arrests were made by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, inaugurated in March as part of the kingdom’s beefed-up war against extremism.
Morocco frequently has announced the arrest of terrorist cells and reported seizing weapons from groups that authorities say have vowed allegiance to ISIS. According to the British-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, about 2,000 Moroccans are estimated to be fighting with ISIS in Iraq and Syria.