4 IS suspects arrested in Morocco

Rabat  :  Moroccan authorities have arrested four suspected Islamic State (IS) militants who had been plotting attacks in the kingdom, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The suspects, aged between 20 and 26, had been active in the northwestern cities of Casablanca and Kenitra and the northeastern cities of Fez and Driouch. One of them is a former prisoner charged with terrorism, the ministry said in a statement.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects were supporting and disseminating IS propaganda. Some of the suspects made contact with IS fighters to learn how to make bombs, it said.

Electronic devices, military uniforms and books advocating extremist ideas have been seized during the arrest operations.

Spanish and Moroccan security services earlier this month collaborated to dismantle a terror cell affiliated with the IS and operating in both countries, leading to the arrest of five people, according to a MAP news agency report. 

Of the five arrested, three were active in Morocco's Fnideq city while two others were operating in Spain's Bilbao. 

Since 2015, Moroccan security services have busted over 50 terrorist cells, more than 40 of which were linked to the IS, according to Interior Ministry statistics.