Red alert after terrorist arrests
The Moroccan government has raised the terrorist threat level to “red” amid a wave of terrorism-related arrests.
There’s a “red alert” active in Morocco. The interior ministry has raised the level on its security threat scale after seven people were arrested in Meknes on Tuesday on suspicion of “criminal and terrorist acts”.
According to L’Economiste newspaper, the suspects, all between 24 and 26 years old, were planning attacks against military barracks, universities, hotels and government offices. Four of the arrested people have been released after questioning.
More than 30 people were arrested since Tuesday in Fnidek, Tetouan and Tangier, another daily, Al Bayane, adds.
Increased security was notable near tourist hotspots in Tangier, Casablanca and Rabat, Al Bayane writes, while L’Economiste says added controls have come into force at Morocco’s borders.
The security warning comes in the wake of a series of bomb attacks in bordering Algeria, which killed at least 7 people earlier this week. Those attacks have been attributed to the terrorist organization Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.
The group recently said it was changing its name to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Land of the Maghreb and announced that it would widen its activities to other countries in North Africa.