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Three more arrests over 'militant' attack on Scandinavians in Morocco Video of Morocco murder authenticated as terror fears mount
(about 1 hour later)
Moroccan police have arrested three more people over the killing of two female tourists from Norway and Denmark in a suspected militant attack in the Atlas Mountains. Danish intelligence services have authenticated a video circulating on social media that shows the murder of one of two Scandinavian women killed in Morocco as fears mount that the tourists were killed by Islamist extremists.
The bodies of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, were found on Monday in an isolated area near Imlil, on the way to Toubkal, morth Africa’s highest peak and a popular hiking destination. The authentication was confirmed in a statement released on Thursday. It came as Moroccan authorities arrested three more suspects over the killings in the Atlas mountains.
The authorities had said a suspect arrested in tourist hub Marrakech on Tuesday was a member of a militant group, without naming the organisation. Danish intelligence said earlier on Thursday that Islamic State could be behind the killings. The men were arrested in Marrakech as they tried to flee in a bus, according to the national security spokesman Boubker Sabik, who told the Associated Press that authorities were investigating whether they had terrorist affiliations.
Three more suspects sought by police had also been arrested in Marrakech, the Moroccan Bureau for Judicial Investigations said in a statement. Another suspect, arrested on Tuesday, had affiliations to an extremist group, Moroccan authorities have said.
The evidence discovered so far pointed to a terrorist motive, it said. The bodies of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, were found on Monday in an isolated area near Imlil, which is on the route to Toubkal, north Africa’s highest peak and a popular hiking destination.
Preliminary investigations of a video shared on social media purporting to show the killing of one of the tourists had found that it was shot in a different place from where the bodies were found, a police source told Reuters. One of the women was found inside their tent and the other outside. Both had fatal wounds around the neck. According to a source who spoke to the AFP news agency, one of the bodies had been decapitated.
“The video and preliminary investigation according to the Moroccan authorities indicate that the killings may be related to the terrorist organisation Islamic State,” the Danish intelligence service said in a statement. “The PET [Danish intelligence service] confirms that a video circulating on the internet shows the murder of one of the two women killed in Morocco,” it said in a statement on Thursday. In an earlier statement PET said Moroccan authorities had indicated that the killings may be related Islamic State.
“This is a case of an unusually bestial killing of two totally innocent young women,” it said. The killing can be considered “politically motivated and thus an act of terror”, the Danish prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said on Thursday. He said “there are still dark forces that want to fight our values” and “we must not give in”.
Before leaving, Jespersen, from Denmark, had posted on Facebook about her upcoming trip. In Norway, the prime minister, Erna Solberg, said terrorism “is not the only lead that is being investigated in Morocco” but said the case still “emphasises the importance of combating violent extremism”.
“Dear friends, I’m going to Morocco in December. Any of you guys who’s around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?“ Jespersen, from Denmark, had posted on Facebook about her upcoming trip before leaving. “Dear friends, I’m going to Morocco in December. Any of you guys who’s around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?”
Compared to other countries in North Africa, Morocco has been largely insulated from militant attacks. The most recent took place in April 2011, when around 17 people were killed in a bombing of a restaurant in Marrakech. The killings have prompted concerns about the impact on Morocco’s tourist sector, which accounts for 10% of national income, as the kingdom’s relative security has always been a major selling point.
“This is a brutal and meaningless attack on innocent people, which we react to with disgust and condemnation,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in a statement. Compared with other countries in North Africa, Morocco has been largely insulated from militant attacks. The most recent took place in April 2011, when about 17 people were killed in a restaurant bombing in Marrakech.
Morocco’s Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations, established in 2015, says it has so far broken up 57 militant cells, including eight in 2018. Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, established in 2015, says it has so far broken up 57 militant cells, including eight in 2018.
In the videos that have been circulating a voice can reportedly be heard speaking of the “enemies of Allah” several times and referring to “revenge for our brothers in Hajin”, referring to the last stronghold of Isis in Syria, which fell a few days ago.
The two victims were friends from the University of South-Eastern Norway, where they were studying together. “What we know is that they were on a month-long, private holiday in Morocco. Our thoughts go to the families,” the university said.
Associated Press contributed to this report
MoroccoMorocco
AfricaAfrica
Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
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