Morocco breaks up two Al-Qaeda cells: ministry
AFP
RABAT- Morocco broke up two Al-Qaeda-linked cells and arrested nine people including a Yemeni national and a former Italian resident, the interior ministry said on Friday.
"Two terrorist cells linked to Al-Qaeda, composed respectively of four and five members, have been completely dismantled," the ministry said in a statement.
Among those arrested were two people who were previously convicted of terrorism-related offences, the statement said.
The exact date of the arrests was not known, but a security source confirmed they took place in October.
The first cell was led by an Islamist who previously lived in Italy. The second was chiefly involved in recruitment and sending potential insurgents to Iraq, the security source said.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested in Morocco under anti-terror laws since the 2003 Casablanca bombings in which 45 people died, including 12 suicide bombers.
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