Special to WorldTribune.com

Moroccan police have arrested a French woman of Moroccan origin and her male companion in the southern city of Safi for suspected links to Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.

The statement on April 16 said the woman had recently left France and that both were planning terrorist attacks.

Officials said some 1,300 Moroccans have gone abroad to fight with terrorist organizations and that 155 had attempted to return as of last month.

Moroccan officials on March 22 announced the arrest of a number alleged terrorists who had pledged loyalty to ISIL.

The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations conducted raids nationwide and seized weapons in addition to making the arrests, Morocco World News reported, citing a statement from the Interior Ministry.

The statement said the alleged terrorists were planning a series of military and political assassinations, including attacks on security forces to steal their weapons. Those arrested also are suspected of recruiting young Moroccans to fight in Iraq and Syria for ISIL.

The arrests came just days after a terror attack on a museum in Tunisia, killing more than two-dozen people and wounding dozens of foreign tourists.

Morocco has made it a crime to join a foreign terrorist organization. El-Khalfi said Morocco is working with intelligence agencies in other countries to stem the growth of terrorism, which he described as a transnational phenomenon that threatens the stability of the entire region.

  Morocco continues aggressive security response to ISIL threat, With new arrests, WorldTribune.com