Morocco’s Proactive Anti-Terror Strategy Thwarts 207 Terrorist Cells Since 2002

For terrorist projects not to see the slightest beginning of execution, the security services specialized in the fight against terrorism must intervene early enough. Sources at the Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), interviewed by the Map, specify that thanks in particular to this new strategy, 207 terrorist cells have been dismantled in Morocco since 2002. 32 have been neutralized, including a large part composed of groups linked to the so-called "Islamic State" (Daesh) organization, over the past three years.

Description of the modus operandi: "We rely on the collection of intelligence about suspicious persons (actions, publications on social networks, contacts...). We analyze them deeply, then we make the decision to intervene according to the imminence of the danger," reports the MAP, citing a specialist. The latter emphasizes that the monitoring of a cell can take time, that of having the maximum information on the perpetrators of terrorist projects (degree of radicalization, members, connections in Morocco and/or abroad, targets...). The intervention is rapid (24 hours or less) if we have reliable information on the imminent execution of the act by any cell.

Anticipating has the dual benefit of preserving the lives of potential victims, while also protecting the terrorists themselves, who need to be protected from themselves, explains the same source. The philosophy of the DGST is summed up as follows: "The people arrested in a terrorism case, apart from those involved in bloodshed, remain recoverable and reintegrable into society once they have revised their extremist ideals."

Thus, many detainees in terrorism-related cases have been able to reintegrate into society as part of the "moussalaha" program, led by the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR), in coordination with other bodies, including the Rabita Mohammadia of Ulema. The strategy has made it possible to extract "human beings" from the abyss of obscurantism.