A suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, suspected of being involved in a "
terrorist project
", was arrested on Thursday, September 29 by Moroccan police, with the cooperation of American intelligence, we learned from police sources.
The 29-year-old man was arrested in Casablanca, the Moroccan megalopolis, by agents of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), according to a press release from the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ).
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He was taken into police custody "
for his alleged involvement in the preparation of a terrorist project aimed at seriously undermining public order
", specifies the BCIJ.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the suspect carried out "
reconnaissance visits to identify certain security checkpoints with a view to attacking them and using their service weapons in terrorist operations
", the statement said.
He also sought to "
join terrorist organizations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and on the Syrian-Iraqi scene
".
On May 16, 2003, Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco, had been the target of a series of jihadist suicide attacks which left 33 dead and a hundred injured.
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If the Cherifian kingdom has been spared in recent years by violence linked to jihadist groups, its security services regularly report anti-terrorist crackdowns and foiled attack plans.
Since 2002, the Moroccan police have dismantled more than 2,000 terrorist cells and arrested more than 3,500 people in cases related to "
terrorism
", according to the BCIJ.
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