Morocco: Terrorists arrested, preempting attack in Belgium

The Moroccan police arrested a terrorist network in Fez and Nador today. According to news agency Maghreb Arabe Press (MAP), the network planned to commit attacks in Morocco and Belgium. They had connections with recruiting branches for volunteers in Iraq and al-Qaeda in Algeria.

Eleven men were arrested, including one Belgian-Moroccan from Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Brussels) who was the deputy head of the organization. Two suspects are still on the run, including the head of the group.

The identities of the men were not released. A Moroccan government source said that that this network is not related to that of Abdelkader Belliraj.

Belgian authorities were not informed of the investigation, though the Moroccan authorities based themselves on information from Belgium in order to build their case.

Sources: Tijd, HLN (Dutch)

Update:

The terrorists planned to attack two targets in Belgium: the EU parliament building and the Sheraton hotel in Brussels.

The two fugitives are Mohamed Bakali and Mohamed Agbalou, who have been wanted by Moroccan security forces since February.

Source: HLN (Dutch)

See also: Belgium: Belliraj murders, Belgium: Terrorist leader helped prevent attack in Europe, Belgium: Terrorist suspect had Al-Qaeda links

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