CAIRO Ñ Morocco continues to arrest suspects in the Al Qaida suicide
strikes in the North African kingdom.
Moroccan security sources said the kingdom has detained an additional 34
suspects in the suicide strikes on May 16 in Casablanca. The sources said
the suspects were members of Islamic insurgency groups such as the banned
Salfiya Jihadiya.
In all, Moroccan authorities have charged more than 100 people with
links to Islamic insurgency groups over the last two weeks, Middle East Newsline reported. The offenses
ranged from membership in a banned organization to attacks on Muslims deemed
as having failed to practice their faith. The defendants were charged under
the new anti-terror law passed in wake of the May 16 suicide bombings in
May.
Many of the latest suspects have been accused of maintaining links with
the Al Qaida suicide network in Casablanca in which 10 people blew
themselves up around Western and Jewish interests in the city.
The suspects
have been remanded and will soon appear in court where they will be formally
charged.
So far, 33 of the detainees have been referred to the Moroccan
prosecutor for additional questioning and a determination of formal charges.
The detainees were arrested by Moroccan police and a special security unit
that focuses on Islamic militants.
The sources said the suspects were believed to be part of an Islamic
insurgency network in Casablanca from which the suicide attackers were
recruited. In all, 14 suicide attackers were recruited for the May 16
attacks, but four of them did not carry out their mission.
The network was organized by Salfiya and operated in such Casablanca
neighborhoods as Sidi Mumin and Tuma, the sources said. These neighborhoods
are poor areas dominated by Islamic militant groups.
