Morocco arrests 8 IS-linked suspects

Morocco announced Friday the arrest of eight people with suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) group after the bust of a terror cell in the cities of Fez and Tangier.

According to a statement from the interior ministry, the cell includes two former detainees in terror-related cases, who were operating within a terror cell that was led in 2003 by a French national and which had planned terrorist attacks in Morocco and abroad.

A shotgun, ammunition, bladed weapons as well as documents containing suspicious chemical formulas were retrieved, the ministry added.

Preliminary investigations show that the cell's members have close links with IS active elements in Syria and Iraq as part of coordination to recruit and send Moroccan volunteers for jihad in the ranks of IS, the source said.

The recruitment of extremist elements to be sent in Syria and Iraq is intended to enable them benefit from military training in IS camps before returning to Morocco to carry out terrorist plots, the interior ministry said.

The suspects will be brought before justice after the completion of the investigation, conducted under the competent public prosecutor's office.

Morocco is facing a growing threat from terrorist groups, especially the IS militant group.

Authorities said over 160 terrorist cells have been busted since 2002, including over 40 in the past three years with ties to extremists groups in both Iraq and Syria. Endit