Morocco says its intelligence community have dismantled a terrorist cell linked to the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS), thwarting an attack planned by radicalised elements.
On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) said it has foiled a major terrorist plot targeting Morocco.
The prevented attack was reportedly orchestrated under the direct influence of a leader from the Islamic State’s operations in the Sahel region.
A simultaneous security operation across multiple cities resulted in the arrest of 12 suspects involved in planning serious terrorist acts. A statement from the General Directorate of National Security and Territorial Surveillance detailed that the operation took place in El Laâyoune, Casablanca, Fez, Taza, Tangier, Azemmour, Jerada, Oulad Teima, and Tamesna (near Rabat).
The 12 extremists, aged 18 to 40, had pledged allegiance to ISIS and were actively preparing coordinated terrorist attacks.The intervention was conducted by special forces of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), using counter-terrorism protocols.
Snipers were deployed to neutralise threats, while assault teams and explosives detection units secured the crime scenes.
Searches at the suspects’ residences uncovered explosives under assembly, including four modified gas canisters packed with nails, chemical substances, and wired for remote detonation.
Also recovered were an explosive device in a pressure cooker, containing nails and chemicals. a large stockpile of bladed weapons, U.S. dollars, and chemical substances as well as night-vision goggles, firearms replicas, encrypted electronic devices, and ISIS-related documents.
Moroccan intelligence also confirmed that the terrorist cell operated under the direct orders of a senior leader of the Islamic State in the Sahel, responsible for exporting terrorist activities outside the region.
He provided funding, logistical support, and digital instructions on executing attacks. The cell operated with a hierarchical structure, with a core leadership team receiving instructions, coordinators relaying orders to operatives, and a financial network directly receiving ISIS funds, bypassing banking systems.
The group was reportedly planning kidnappings and summary executions of security forces, attacks on economic and security infrastructures, targeting foreign interests in Morocco, deliberate environmental destruction, including arson.
The cell had already conducted reconnaissance missions in multiple Moroccan cities after receiving ISIS approval to proceed. They had even recorded a video pledge of allegiance before executing their attacks. Under the supervision of Morocco’s counter-terrorism prosecutor, the suspects remain in custody for further investigations into their international connections, particularly with the African branch of ISIS.
This latest counter-terrorism operation underscores the growing threat posed by ISIS-affiliated networks in the Sahel, which continue to export terrorist activities across Africa and beyond, including Morocco.
The DGST has repeatedly warned international security partners about the escalating terrorist threats from the Sahel.
Moroccan intelligence has played a key role in dismantling multiple extremist cells in recent years, many of which were backed by ISIS and Al-Qaeda leaders in the region.
MK/te/ac/lb/as/APA