Government sources said the kingdom's intelligence and security services have increased surveillance and operations ahead of parliamentary elections on Sept. 7. The sources said authorities have concluded that the Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb was planning a series of suicide strikes meant to mar the elections.

"The assessment is that Al Qaida would use all of its assets to carry out at least one if not more terrorist strikes," a source said.

A key electoral challenger to the government was said to be the Islamist Justice and Development Party, the third largest political movement in Morocco. The party, which expresses support for the king, has called for a crackdown on corruption.

"We believe that Dukali did not act alone and consulted with others before the attack," another government source said.

So far, at least four men have been arrested in wake of the bombing in Meknas. They were identified as engineers from Casablanca recruited by Dukali in his effort to establish an Al Qaida-aligned cell in the kingdom.

Dukali and his wife were said to have belonged to an Islamist opposition group. His wife has also been arrested and interrogated.

On Aug. 8, a Moroccan military court sentenced eight military officers from six months to five years for leaking classified documents on Al Qaida plans to attack North African states. The officers relayed information to the Moroccan weekly Al Watan regarding 16 suicide bombers sent by an Arab state to Morocco. Four of the operatives were said to have been Pakistanis.