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| Terror Networks |
| Total of 15 Saudi-controlled terrorists nabbed in Morocco so far... |
| 2002-06-27 |
| Five Saudi nationals and three Moroccans have been arrested in Morocco in connection with a suspected al-Qaeda cell, bringing the total of arrests in a security operation to 15. The five Saudis were arrested on Sunday for suspected links to three Saudi nationals and four Moroccans already arrested in mid-May. Security services then dismantled an alleged al-Qaeda cell accused of preparing attacks against Morocco and on Nato ships in the Straits of Gibraltar. The five arrested on Sunday were members of a fundamentalist Moroccan Islamic organisation Addaawa Wattabligh, and had been legally staying in Morocco for several months in Nador, a Mediterranean coastal town. Among the seven Moroccans arrested by police were a police officer based at Casablanca airport who allegedly accepted a bribe to fraudulently stamp a passport, a manager of a dairy in Rabat and a market trader. The newspaper Aujord'hui le Maroc reported the five had requested information on Zodiac rubber dinghies. The press had reported that Moroccan authorities believed Zodiacs, packed with explosives, were to be used in the attacks against Nato ships. On June 18, the three Saudis were charged in Casablanca with preparing to attack buses around Morocco and Jemaa El Fna square in Marrakesh, a popular spot with tourists in the central town. An examining magistrate in Casablanca is preparing a legal case against them and their alleged accomplices. In the meantime, the Saudi ambassador to Morocco, Abdelaziz Khoja, has visited the three Saudis arrested in May, who are now imprisoned at Oukacha prison in Casablanca. "Just sit tight and don't say anything, guys. We're working on an international public opinion campaign to spring you." "But they keep hitting us!" "We're bringing diplomatic pressure on these Moroccan yokels. It won't be long now..." "'Won't be long now?' These guys have pliers, dammit! Get some dynamite! Round up some Paks...!" |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |