Morocco says it has dismantled ISIL-linked cell planning attack

Morocco says it has arrested 10 members of a cell linked to the ISIL affiliate in Sahel Province (ISSP), foiling a planned attack.

The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, Morocco’s chief agency responsible for counterterrorism operations, said on Monday that as well as seizing the suspects, simultaneous raids across several Moroccan cities had found bladed weapons, military-style clothing, bomb‑making instructions, digital material and chemicals, as well as a car suspected to have been modified for use in a bombing or ramming attack.

A warehouse used by the cell held butane gas cylinders and pressure cookers filled with nails and electrically wired.

Police said the group’s plans were “in an advanced stage of preparation”.

The last attack by an ISIL-affiliated group on Moroccan soil occurred in 2023, when three men killed a policeman in Casablanca.

Read more: Al Jazeera