Morocco busts ‘Daesh-linked cell’: Interior Ministry

By Mehmet Akif Turan

RABAT (AA) – Moroccan anti-terror squads on Friday dismantled a "Daesh-linked terrorist cell" in the country's north, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry.

The five-member "cell" was dismantled in Morocco's northern city of Tetouan as part of a wide-ranging anti-Daesh operation, the ministry added.

According to the statement, the cell had been planning to carry out terrorist attacks aimed at "destabilizing the country".

The ministry also said that 758 out of 1,579 Moroccan nationals who had recently gone to fight in Syria, Iraq or Libya had "links" with the terrorist group.

In mid-October, the Moroccan authorities made a similar announcement, saying they had dismantled a three-member "Daesh cell" that had also been planning terrorist attacks.

In a statement issued at the time, the Interior Ministry said a total of 38 "terrorist cells" had been dismantled throughout the country -- including many with alleged Daesh links -- since the beginning of 2013.