The General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST), Morocco's civilian domestic intelligence agency, successfully thwarted a significant and coordinated terrorist plot this Wednesday, which was poised to target three prominent Moroccan cities. The intervention prevented a significant attack, ensuring the safety of civilians and upholding national security.
According to the Moroccan electronic newspaper Hespress, the counter-terrorism operation launched by DGST took place simultaneously in the cities of Casablanca, Fez, Tangier, Rabat, Laayoune and Azammur, targeting 12 members of ISIS throughout the. All the members were male, with ages ranging from 18 to 40 years old.
DGST intervention and counter-terrorism teams seized multiple machine guns and melee weapons, as well as dozens of empty gas canisters filled with explosive materials, nails, electric wires, and pipes, which the terrorists intended to detonate remotely.
The counter-terrorism teams also managed to locate large amounts of cash, ISIS flags and pre-recorded videos of the terrorists pledging allegiance to the "caliphate". They allegedly planned to target multiple hotels in Marrakesh and Casablanca using gas canisters, and intended to attack the DGSN and DGST headquarters in Rabat with machine guns and melee weapons.
Additionally, the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance claims that the ISIS' Sahel branch was responsible for recruiting, training, and organizing the operation through their so-called 'Committee of External Operations.' This committee has been active for two years, providing financial and logistical support, as well as written and visual training materials to their members within the kingdom via collaborators in neighbouring countries, which the agency has not specified.
Furthermore, the agency claims that the leader of the Sahel branch himself sent a video to the Moroccan ISIS members, blessing and congratulating them on their upcoming martyrdom operations.
This event highlights the growing power and influence that ISIS is gaining in the Sahel and North Africa region, a development that poses a significant threat not only to the African continent but also to Europe and the West as a whole.