Morocco: Security concerns over expected wave of returning IS militants

Event

Moroccan authorities are reportedly preparing for the threat posed by returning Moroccan nationals who had left to fight with Islamic State (IS), as many IS fighters flee Mosul, Iraq, in the wake of its declared liberation from IS control on July 9. According to police, the majority of Moroccan militants in Iraq and Syria are known to the authorities and they are tracking their movements.

Investigations in collaboration with several other countries are ongoing as security forces work to collect intelligence and pursue suspected extremist fighters at the Turkish or Syrian borders.

Context

Several terrorist attacks have been carried out on Moroccan soil in the past decade. In 2011, a bombing at a café in Marrakesh killed 17 people. More than 150 terrorist cells have been dismantled in Morocco since 2002, including 40 in the past three years. It is estimated that over 1600 Moroccans have traveled to fight with IS in Syria and Iraq, 400 of whom died in combat.  Only approximately 78 are believed to have returned to Morocco thus far.

On Sunday, July 9, the Iraqi government announced the liberation of the northern city of Mosul, occupied by IS since 2014, after almost nine months of fighting. A small part of the city remains in IS control.

Advice

Due to the significant terrorist threat, individuals in Morocco are advised report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and to exercise caution at all times, particularly when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.), especially in major cities such as Marrakesh, Rabat, and Casablanca.