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Africa North
Moroccan court jails former Spanish soldier on terror charges
2015-02-21
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Moroccan court sentenced a former Spanish soldier to eight years in jail on Friday on charges of leading an Islamist network in the kingdom that was plotting terror attacks, the state news agency MAP said.

Seventeen other members of the group, all believed to be Moroccans, were sentenced to between two and 10 years in prison on a variety of charges.

The Spaniard was only identified by his initials -- J.F.

He was jugged
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
in January 2014 and the Interior Ministry said at the time that he had served in Melilla, a tiny Spanish enclave on the Morocco's Mediterranean coast. He resigned his commission and joined al Qaeda in Afghanistan where he learned guerrilla tactics, it said.

The authorities accused him of forming a criminal network with Moroccans drawn from numerous cities including Fes, Marrakesh and Nador, where he himself was based, near Melilla.

No further details emerged from the trial and it was not clear if his organization was affiliated to any particular Islamist group.

Morocco, a Western ally against Islamist militancy, regularly reports that has broken up radical cells accused of plotting attacks. On Thursday, the Interior Ministry said it had arrested three men seeking to join groups loyal to the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in Libya.
An Nahar adds:
All 18 were charged with forming a criminal group for the purpose of carrying out acts of terrorism, as well as belonging to a banned religious organization and of holding public meetings without permission.
Posted by:Fred

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