Atmane Tazaghart
Special to The Daily Star

PARIS: Is Morocco, traditionally considered one of the most secure and politically moderate parts of the Arab Maghreb, turning into a strategic base and transit point for Al-Qaeda activists, particularly members of its “external operations” branch, which organizes bombings and terrorist actions in Western countries?
The question has been asked with increased urgency by Western intelligence agencies and counter-terrorism specialists since the start of this year, when they began tracking unusual movements by fundamentalists in the country, and the homecoming of a big wave of “Moroccan Afghans” who had fought in Afghanistan.
Their fears, expressed over recent months in a number of European intelligence reports, were confirmed last week when security sources in Rabat revealed that a cell suspected of belonging to Al-Qaeda’s “sleeper network” had been apprehended last May 11 in Morocco. According to the sources, Morocco’s Territorial Security Directorate arrested the five members of the cell, all of them of Saudi origin, after obtaining information that they were planning to attack warships of the US Sixth Fleet and other NATO vessels as they passed through the Straits of Gibraltar.
European counter-terrorism sources reported at the end of May ? though the security authorities in Morocco neither officially confirmed nor denied the information ? that another Al-Qaeda cell had been detained at Casablanca airport, also on May 11. The group consisted of six people (a Saudi, a Somali, a Tunisian, an Algerian and two Moroccans) and they were stopped ? according to those sources ? aboard a New York-bound plane just minutes before it was due to take off.
Questions were asked about how they had managed to pass through airport security checks even though the Moroccan security services had been tipped off about them from the CIA.
It is possible that the capture of these two groups, and the arrest two days earlier at a Chicago airport of American-born Al-Qaeda suspect Jose Padilla, is evidence of plans by Al-Qaeda to make a forceful comeback on the international terrorist stage?
It might have been attempting three high-profile operations in quick succession: the bombing of an American or NATO ship in the Straits of Gibraltar; the detonation of a “dirty bomb” in the US; and perhaps another operation carried out by the group apprehended on the New York-bound plane in Casablanca ? though their intentions after arrival have yet to be revealed.
The arrests in Morocco follow a barrage of Western intelligence reports sounding the alarm about a growing Al-Qaeda presence in Morocco.
Most of the Afghan war veterans were said to have joined the Salafi splinter faction that broke off from Al-Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Charity), Morocco’s biggest Islamist movement, in 1999 under Sheikh Mohammed al-Bachiri, who died in mysterious circumstances a few months after the split.
This current is thought to be behind a number of Islamist groupings. They include one calling itself Promotion of Virtue and Prohibition of Vice, which in Casablanca on Feb. 27 committed the first assassination of its kind in Morocco’s history, against a man on whom they had passed a death sentence. Thirteen sword-wielding members of this group stoned their victim to death after a chase, according to the newspaper Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtiraki, mouthpiece of Prime Minister Abderrahman Youssoufi’s party.
Other reports spoke of an upsurge in activity by Islamists in Morocco in recent months, especially in areas near the Algerian border, where in the mid-1990s a number of groups emerged whose main purpose was to provide supplies to insurgents in Algeria. They warned that, in the aftermath of the events of Sept. 11, these groups could turn to assisting Al-Qaeda and providing refuge to its members.
Last October, the Moroccan media reported that Osama bin Laden had spent some three months in the country in the early 1990s, organizing Moroccan and Algerian supporters who had been with him during the war in Afghanistan.
At the time, “Algerian Afghans” used to obtain much assistance in crossing the border to and from Morocco, prompting the Algerian defense minister, Khaled Nezzar, to fume in an article in the Algiers daily Al-Watan: “It is regrettable that one cannot choose one’s neighbors!”
His remark reflected the Algerian security establishment’s long-standing charge that its Moroccan counterpart was deliberately turning a blind eye to the activities of Algerian rebels.
The Moroccans accused the Algerians of doing the same, with former Interior Minister Driss Basri charging that Algerian intelligence masterminded a 1996 attack against French tourists in Marrakech.
Amid the traditional cat-and-mouse game between the Algerian and Moroccan security agencies, no one seemed to heed the danger of growing cooperation between Islamist groups from the two countries. European intelligence agencies did not pay them much attention either, because their activities were purely local and focused on supporting the armed groups inside Algeria.
But this has changed since Sept. 11, and the subsequent worldwide “redeployment” of Al-Qaeda elements seeking alternative bases. They are increasingly fearful that Morocco could become a key focus of future Al-Qaeda activity.
Morocco has several potential advantages over other countries, such as Yemen or some of the Central Asian republics, which have been touted as potential alternative sanctuaries. One is its location, not least its proximity to the Straits of Gibraltar, where passing US warships provide possible targets. Another is the existence of extensive support and supply networks in the vicinity of the Algerian border, giving Al-Qaeda access to an important reservoir of experience and trained volunteers from inside Algeria.

Atmane Tazaghart is an Algerian journalist specialized in Islamism and Maghreb affairs
 

Riyadh, rabat discuss fate of Al-Qaeda suspects

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is in contact with Morocco over the arrest of three men believed to be Saudis with links to Al-Qaeda, the kingdom’s deputy interior minister said Thursday.
“We have been notified that there are three suspects believed to be Saudis. We cannot confirm this until the investigation results are out,” Prince Ahmed bin Abdel-Aziz said. “There are contacts and consultations with the brothers in Morocco. We hope to see the results very soon.”
Asked if the men would be sent to a US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where prisoners from the Afghan war are being held, Ahmed said: “The matter is left to the brothers in Morocco, but personally, I don’t expect they will be sent there.”
Ahmed also lamented the fact that the US has yet to grant Saudi Arabia access to around 100 Saudis held at the base. ? AFP

A Moroccan sanctuary for terrorists?

RABAT: Morocco’s Muslim fundamentalists distanced themselves Thursday from five people arrested as suspected Al-Qaeda “terrorists” and reaffirmed their opposition to violence.
“Our movement has a clear position … We demonstrated that we have no links with Al-Qaeda groups,” Abdelwahed el-Moutawakil, head of the political circle of the banned Al-Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Charity) Party said Thursday.
“Since its creation, our movement has rejected and continues to
reject violence, all kind of violence,” he added.
Abdelillah Benkirane, a leading Islamist politician, also denied any links with Osama bin Laden’s network.
“I can assure you that we don’t have links with Al-Qaeda and we have no idea about its activity and networks,” said Benkirane. ­ Reuters

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