عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Morocco Launches Major Anti-'Terrorist' Operation

Spanish police arrest a man suspected of belonging to a militant cell that simulated decapitations in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda
Spanish police arrest a man suspected of belonging to a militant cell that simulated decapitations in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda
TT
TT

Morocco Launches Major Anti-'Terrorist' Operation

Spanish police arrest a man suspected of belonging to a militant cell that simulated decapitations in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda
Spanish police arrest a man suspected of belonging to a militant cell that simulated decapitations in the Spanish north African enclave of Melilla, September 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda

Moroccan investigators questioned around 50 people Wednesday across the kingdom in a major operation targeting suspected militant supporters, local media reported, citing security sources.

Among them, 21 were arrested on suspicion of having pledged allegiance to ISIS group or Al-Qaeda, the reports said, adding anti-terrorist special forces were involved.

Officers seized knives, publications defending "terrorism", and instructions for making explosives, they added, AFP reported.

The North African country has been largely spared acts of violence by militant groups, but its security services often report crackdowns and foiled attack plans.

Last week police in Morocco and Spain said two people, including an ISIS supporter, had been arrested in a joint operation by both countries' security services targeting "terrorists".

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

France's Top Court to Examine Arrest Warrant for Syria's Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters
TT
TT

France's Top Court to Examine Arrest Warrant for Syria's Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters

Prosecutors said Tuesday they had asked France's highest court to review the legality of a French arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over deadly chemical attacks on Syrian soil in 2013.

Syrian opposition say one of those attacks in August 2013 on the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus killed around 1,400 people, including more than 400 children, in one of the many horrors of the 13-year civil war.

Prosecutors said they had made the request to the Court of Cassation on Friday on judicial grounds, two days after an appeals court upheld the arrest order.

"This decision is by no means political. It is about having a legal question resolved," the prosecutors told AFP.

France is believed to have been the first country to issue an arrest warrant for a sitting foreign head of state in November.

Investigative magistrates specialized in so-called crimes against humanity, issued the warrant after several rights groups filed a complaint against Assad for his role in the chain of command for the alleged chemical attacks in the capital's suburbs on August 4, 5 and 21, 2013.

But prosecutors from a unit specialized in investigating "terrorist" attacks have sought to annul it, although they do not question the grounds for such an arrest.

They argue that immunity for foreign heads of state should only be lifted for international prosecutions, such as at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), lawyers' association Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and the Syrian Archive, an organization documenting human rights violations in Syria, filed the initial complaint.