ISIS Plot in Morocco Foiled with US Help

Moroccan special forces stand guard at the entrance of a building during a counter-terrorism operation in Temara, on the outskirts of Rabat, Morocco September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
Moroccan special forces stand guard at the entrance of a building during a counter-terrorism operation in Temara, on the outskirts of Rabat, Morocco September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
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ISIS Plot in Morocco Foiled with US Help

Moroccan special forces stand guard at the entrance of a building during a counter-terrorism operation in Temara, on the outskirts of Rabat, Morocco September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
Moroccan special forces stand guard at the entrance of a building during a counter-terrorism operation in Temara, on the outskirts of Rabat, Morocco September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo

Moroccan security forces with US support have foiled a suspected bomb plot by ISIS and arrested a supporter of the organization, counter-terror police said Friday.

"This arrest is the culmination of close collaboration between (Moroccan security forces) and US law-enforcement," Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) said in a statement.

The arrested suspect was "an extremist belonging to ISIS" from the Sala Al-Jadida region north of Rabat, the statement added.

According to preliminary inquiries the man had pledged allegiance to the group.

He had planned to join foreign militant training camps "before deciding to join a terror plot in Morocco using explosive devices", the statement added.

The police subsequently seized electronic devices and materials used for the preparation of explosives.

"This security operation highlights the importance and effectiveness of bilateral cooperation between (Moroccan security services) and US intelligence and security agencies in the fight against extremist violence and the threat of international terrorism," the BCIJ said.



Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having the best neighborly relations with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus.

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib passed the message to his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in a phone call, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said on X.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah played a major part propping up Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad through years of war, before bringing its fighters back to Lebanon over the last year to fight in a bruising war with Israel - a redeployment which weakened Syrian government lines.

Under Assad, Hezbollah used Syria to bring in weapons and other military equipment from Iran, through Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon. But on Dec. 6, anti-Assad fighters seized the border with Iraq and cut off that route, and two days later, opposition factions captured the capital Damascus.

Syria's new de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to establish relations with Arab and Western leaders after toppling Assad.