Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) dismantled on Monday a three-member ISIS cell operating in the cities of Errachidia and Tinghir in the country’s southeast.
By this, the total number of detainees in anti-terror operations since the start of 2019 reaches 163. In April alone, 74 individuals, 10 of whom were fighters returning from Syria, were arrested.
"The suspects, aged between 26 and 28, were planning to carry out terrorist attacks," said the BCIJ statement. "Initial investigations revealed that the three extremists have adopted ISIS propaganda and tried to recruit and enlist other elements in preparation for their terrorist plots," it added.
The suspects were placed in custody for further investigation.
Since the beginning of 2019, the Moroccan security forces have dismantled terrorist cells across the country as part of anti-terror operations led by BCIJ in cooperation with security agencies.