Morocco Helps Spain Arrest Moroccan Man With Alleged ISIS Ties
National police in Spain announced the arrest of a Moroccan national for his alleged links with ISIS in collaboration with the security services of Morocco.
Morocco’s General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) and National Intelligence Center of Spain (CNI) carried out a joint security operation to arrest the suspect, Morocco’s state media quoted a statement from the Spanish police as saying.
Spanish police accused the Moroccan suspect of alleged participation in the crimes of integration of a terror organization, recruitment, and indoctrination of third parties.
Preliminary investigations confirmed that the suspect “fully adhered to the postulates of the terrorist organization Daesh and continued to recruit third parties through social networks.”
The security operation, which took place on December 3, allowed police to seize numerous electronic equipment, telephone terminals, and documents from the suspect’s house. The competent services are analyzing the evidence as part of an ongoing investigation into the Moroccan suspect’s affiliation with ISIS.
Investigations of the suspect’s activities on social networks found that he is a follower of ISIS. The suspect has also been following and sharing “hundreds of files praising jihad. He also had jihadist military self-training manuals.”
The statement said the suspect also helped a man from Syria settle in Spain by providing him with logistical support.
This is not the first time Morocco has assisted security services in Spain to arrest suspects with alleged links to terror organizations such as ISIS.
In October, Spain’s police announced the dismantling of a terror cell in collaboration with Morocco’s security services.
In May, Spanish police arrested a Moroccan man in Barcelona for his alleged ties with ISIS.
The arrest was in collaboration with Morocco’s DGST and the US Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI).
Morocco’s security services maintain regional leadership in the fight against terrorism. Morocco collaborates with international partners in the fight against terrorism, including Spain, the US, and France, among others.
Along with DGST, all security units in Morocco are active in local and international counter-terrorism efforts.
In 2015, Morocco introduced the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), which reinforced Morocco’s system to address the scourge of terror threats.
Morocco’s BCIJ has arrested hundreds of ISIS members and dismantled a score of terror cells over the years, both domestically and in cooperation with other countries such as Spain.
Source: Morocco World News
