Morocco battles returning jihadist, breaks up ISIL-affiliated cell

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Special to WorldTribune.com

Moroccan security forces have broken up a terror cell said to be planning to create an Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) affiliate.

According to official figures, between 1,500 and 2,000 Moroccans are fighting or have fought alongside jihadists in Iraq and Syria as well as in Libya. /AFP
Hundreds of Moroccans are fighting or have fought alongside ISIL jihadists in Iraq and Syria as well as in Libya. /AFP

On Sept. 14, Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), part of Morocco’s intelligence service, displayed weapons, ammunition, tasers, swords and bomb-making materials seized from the jihadists.

“The weapons came to Morocco through the eastern borders with Algeria,” BCIJ director Abdelhak Khayyam said.

The jihadists had pledged allegiance to ISIL and planned to call their affiliate the Caliphate Soldiers in Morocco, Khayyam said.

Officials said the five-member terror cell, one of a number recently dismantled in Morocco, was operating in the southern city of Essaouira and the central town of Sidi Allal al-Bahraoui.

Hundreds of fighters from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have joined ISIL’s forces in Syria and officials say some have threatened to return and create new jihadi wings in their home countries.

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