Moroccan, Spanish authorities coordinate against Daesh

By Anas Mezwar

RABAT, Morocco

The Moroccan and Spanish authorities are coordinating with a view to finding and dismantling Daesh “terrorist cells”, Morocco’s Interior Ministry announced Monday.

“These cells are linked to fighters now operating in Syria and Iraq within the context of recruiting and sending volunteers to fight for Daesh," the statement read.

It went on to note that Moroccan and Spanish intelligence agencies on Monday had successfully broken up one such cell composed of three Daesh members, one of whom had been arrested in the Moroccan city of Tangier.

"In tandem with the security operation [in Tangier], two of the suspect’s associates were detained the same day in Spain," the ministry statement added.

The ministry did not say where exactly in Spain the arrests had taken place. Nor did it provide the suspects’ nationalities.

According to the Moroccan authorities, almost 200 active Daesh cells were dismantled throughout the North African country in 2016.