Morocco is unrelenting on its crackdown on the returning foreign fighters who joined the ranks of the Islamic state, Abdelhak Khiam, head of Morocco’s counter-terrorism agency (BCIJ), said. “We have arrested and brought to justice more than 200 returnees,” Khiam said in an interview with AFP. In 2015, an estimated 1 600 Moroccans had joined the ranks of jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria. On international cooperation, Khiam highlighted the role played by Morocco’s security services in averting multiple attacks in Europe. He also warned of the time bomb in the Sahel region where terrorist groups have found “safe haven” entering into an alliance with terrorist networks.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 06, 2018 23:03 UTC