Latest news with #CherkaouiHabboub
Ya Biladi
25-02-2025
- Ya Biladi
ISIS leader in the Sahel behind foiled terror plot in Morocco
Investigations and monitoring of the recently dismantled terrorist cell, named «The Lions of the Khilafa of Maghreb Al Aqsa» by its members, lasted nearly a year, said Cherkaoui Habboub, Director of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), on Monday in Salé. Speaking at a press briefing, the official stated that these operations had led to the arrest of 12 suspects in various towns, including Laâyoune, Casablanca, Fès, Taounate, Tangier, Azemmour, Guercif, Oulad Teima, and Tamesna (a suburb of Rabat). These individuals had recently been scouting potential targets in several Moroccan cities. Habboub added that, based on information from the Direction générale de la surveillance du territoire (DGST), the BCIJ successfully foiled an extremely serious terrorist plan targeting Morocco, masterminded by a senior ISIS leader in the Sahel region, named «Abderrahmane Assahraoui», of Libyan nationality. The searches carried out during this operation led to the seizure of a large quantity of equipment and materials used in preparing a large-scale terrorist attack. This included explosive devices ready for detonation, suspicious substances used to make explosives, and edged weapons. Preliminary technical investigations revealed that some members of the cell held GPS coordinates and specific addresses tied to a weapons and ammunition cache intended for the group to execute its plans. The cache was located in the province of Errachidia, on the eastern bank of Oued Guir at Tel Mzil, in the commune and district of Oued N'aam, near the Boudnib region, along the Oriental border line. Mapping and combing operations revealed that this cache was located at the base of a rocky outcrop, difficult to access. This required deploying suitable logistical resources, activating the security protocol for terrorist threats, and mobilizing explosives-detecting dog units, metal detectors, suspicious substance detection devices, robots, and an x-ray scanning system. After about three hours of search and combing, a cargo of weapons and ammunition was discovered buried in an isolated area at the foot of the rocky terrain. According to the BCIJ director, the seized weapons included two Kalashnikov rifles with magazines, two shotguns, ten pistols of various calibers, a large quantity of cartridges and ammunition, all packed in plastic bags, as well as newspapers from Mali, including weeklies dated January 15 and 27, 2025. Ballistics tests carried out by experts from the Sûreté Nationale's Institute of Forensic Sciences confirmed that the weapons were operational and had been intentionally modified by erasing their serial numbers to conceal their origin. Additionally, some weapon barrels had been shortened to facilitate concealment and transport. Ongoing investigations suggest that these weapons and materials were supplied by Abderrahmane Assahraoui, a senior Daech official from the Sahel region, who coordinated with smuggling networks to supply the arsenal to the terrorist cell members. Thanks to the vigilance of security services, these weapons were seized, preventing a potential catastrophe had the cell managed to acquire them.
Ya Biladi
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Had Soualem terror cell : Family-based radicalization on the rise, says BCIJ chief
The recent dismantling of a terror cell in Had Soualem highlights the escalating threat of family-based radicalization as a significant factor in extremism and terrorist recruitment, according to Cherkaoui Habboub, Director of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ). Speaking at a press briefing in Salé, Habboub emphasized that the cell's danger lay not only in its advanced planning for attacks but also in the growing role of family indoctrination in fostering extremism. Acting on intelligence from the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST), the BCIJ thwarted an imminent terrorist plot on Sunday, averting a series of planned explosive attacks. The operation resulted in the arrest of four extremists, including three brothers, affiliated with Daesh. The suspects, aged 26, 29, 31, and 35, were active in the Had Soualem region of Berrechid province. Habboub noted that the dismantling of the «three brothers» terror cell reflects a new security and social challenge: the infiltration of extremist ideology within entire families. This creates resistant enclaves to Moroccan customs, traditions, and religious unity, influenced by family members imbued with radical views. He expressed concern that the cell's leader, the eldest brother, had transformed his family into a hub of radicalization, recruitment, and indoctrination, leveraging his moral authority to sway his relatives and their immediate social circle. While the Moroccan family structure has traditionally served as a defense against radical ideologies, promoting tolerance and moderation, counterterrorism investigations have revealed increasing patterns of familial indoctrination. Habboub referenced the «female cell» dismantled on October 3, 2016, where many members were influenced by Daesh ideology through family ties. Habboub warned that this threat is becoming more pronounced as international terrorist organizations, particularly Daesh, exploit family-based recruitment to further their destructive goals. He cited the December 11, 2015, «Islamic State in the Islamic Maghreb» cell, where fighters from conflict zones recruited relatives for terrorist activities aimed at destabilizing Morocco.
