CAIRO — Al Qaida operatives based in Syria have sought to restore an
Islamic insurgency network in Morocco.
Moroccan security sources said Al Qaida has helped organize local cells
with ties to Islamic insurgency movements in Europe and Syria. The sources
said the effort was meant to restore the Al Qaida network damaged by the
arrest of more than 5,000 people in 2003 in wake of coordinated suicide
strikes in Casablanca.
In November, the sources said, Moroccan intelligence agencies discovered
an attempt by Al Qaida to restore its network in Casablanca and Rabat. They
said authorities identified and arrested 17 Islamic insurgency operatives
with links to Syria.
[On Nov. 11, a group called Islamic Tawhid Wal Jihad Group of Morocco
declared war on the North African kingdom, Middle East Newsline reported. The name had been used by Al
Qaida network chief Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi.]
"The Moroccan security services have just dismantled a terrorist
structure as it was being formed," a Moroccan government statement said. "It
was composed of 17 elements linked to the radical Islamic movement having
connections with small groups emerging at the Iraqi border and maintaining
close ties with senior members of the Al Qaida organization."
On Monday, the suspects were formally charged in a court in Rabat. One
of the detainees was identified as Mohamed Reha, a Belgian national of
Moroccan origin. The statement said Reha was "known to have stayed in
Syria and maintained close ties with North African Islamists in Europe."
Reha was said to have been linked to Khaled Azig, identified as a
Moroccan national based in Syria. The sources said Azig shuttled between
Syria and Turkey.
On Sept. 29, the government statement said, Azig returned to Morocco. At
that point, Azig and Reha launched an effort to recruit operatives for Al
Qaida.
Two of the recruits were identified as Ibrahim Bin Chekroun, 26, and
Mohammed Mazouz, 32. Both recruits were said to have been Moroccans trained
in Afghanistan and detained at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The sources said the Islamic cell also sought to smuggle Al Qaida
members into Morocco. As a result, Moroccan authorities have increased
security at border facilities as well as embassies in the kingdom.
