Security Forces Bust Terrorist Cell Planning Attacks in Morocco

Members of the Moroccan special forces stand guard inside the Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation building. (AFP)
Members of the Moroccan special forces stand guard inside the Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation building. (AFP)
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Security Forces Bust Terrorist Cell Planning Attacks in Morocco

Members of the Moroccan special forces stand guard inside the Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation building. (AFP)
Members of the Moroccan special forces stand guard inside the Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation building. (AFP)

Security agencies in Morocco busted on Monday an ISIS-affiliated terrorist cell in the northern city of Tangier.

After receiving information about terrorist activity, security forces raided four positions in the city, arresting the primary suspect and three members of the cell.

They confiscated a number of weapons and electronic equipment.

Investigations with the suspects revealed that they sought to join ISIS training camps in the Sahel region, but failed, prompting them to turn to plotting dangerous terrorist attacks in Morocco.

Investigators also discovered a recording of one of the members pledging his allegiance to the current alleged leader of ISIS.

The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation said the arrest underscores that terrorism is still a threat in the kingdom, warning that extremists were still plotting operations in the country.

Investigations will continue with the detainees.



UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

The UN rights chief on Tuesday voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.

Israel has been locked in fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since Oct. 2023, and fighting has escalated dramatically since late September of this year.

"UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk is gravely concerned by the escalation in Lebanon with at least 97 people reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes between the 22nd and 24th of November," Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing.

He said that at least seven paramedics had been reported killed in three Israeli strikes in the south of Lebanon on Nov. 22-23, adding to 226 healthcare worker deaths since Oct. 7, 2023. He did not specify how many of the recent deaths had been verified by UN human rights monitors.

Israel says it targets military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.