Moroccan authorities have arrested 24 suspects in connection with a suicide bombing in Casablanca earlier this month that killed one person and injured four others, a government source said on Wednesday.
Two hundred people have been questioned in the investigation, an interior ministry official said. Police continue to search for six suspects.
Those arrested are between 18 and 27 years old, and most are from the poor neighbourhood of Sidi Moumen, where the attack occurred. Twelve of them were potential suicide bombers, the official said.
The bomber, Abdelfettah Raydi, was killed in the blast at an Internet cafe on March 11. His alleged accomplice, Youssef Khoudri, was injured and arrested when he attempted to flee.
Government ministers have said the suspects were seeking "economic targets", such as the Casablanca port, as well as tourist spots in Tanger, Essaouira and Marrakech. They have also said the attack was locally planned.
Reaction by Bloggers
One of our favourite bloggers from London, BO18 was concerned by the reaction of the Moroccan government, feeling that maybe they were coming down too hard. Here is some of what he had to say in a post entitled Stop the orgy of arrests.
On one hand I'm happy with every blow the government brings to the Islamist nutjobs, I prefer to see a Morocco where everybody has the right to be free. In that field Morocco is not perfect, but the current government/regime are the only ones who can make the step forward. Islamist nutjobs are only able to make a step backwards ( a couple of centuries backwards)
On the other hand, I'm against this type of mass-arrests. Arrests that will only further anger some segments of the population.
In his post entitled "Ridicule does not kill…terrorism," Les Politiquonautes Marocains was less than impressed with the decision of the city council of Fez "to close all cybercafés at 9pm," after the Casablanca attack of March 11th. "They have decided to attack the real causes of terrorism in our country… By preventing the Bin Ladens living in Fez from getting into cybercafés and getting indoctrinated after evening prayers."Le ridicule ne tue pas ... le terrorisme
Incroyable mais vrai ... La ville de FÈS a décidé de dire NON au terrorisme ... du coup elle ferme tous ces cyber à 21 h !!!! je ne plaisante pas ... c'est ce qui est ecris sur les "de bonnes sources" de l'Economiste ...
While the tightening up of security is very obvious around hotels and places where there are large numbers of tourists, the decision to close down cybercafés is felt very strongly, particularly in the Fez Medina where they are the meeting place of choice for young people with limited opportunities to spend time with members of the opposite sex. Hopefully the good burghers of Fez will relax and concentrate on policing petty crime.
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
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