Speaking at a press briefing devoted to shedding light on developments in the case of intentional homicide with mutilation of the body against a policeman in the performance of his duties, Sabik said that terrorism “has moved from the traditional means that relied on indoctrination, sorting, education, preparation and then enlistment to carry out terrorist operations, to a rapid extremism through manipulation via the Internet and the dark web.”
The greatest threat is now the rapid extremism and the alleged return of members of terrorist organizations operating in the Sahel region and other strongholds of “Daesh”, Sabik added, emphasizing the arrest in recent years of about 100 people who were active in the so-called “information terrorism” through disseminating propaganda to glorify terrorist operations, indoctrination and recruitment.
Thus, he continued in response to questions from journalists, the security services are working successfully at the cyber level to combat this “environment conducive to the production of this kind of rapid indoctrination.”
The three alleged perpetrators of the intentional homicide with mutilation of the body against a policeman in Casablanca announced their allegiance to the terrorist organization “Daesh” about a month and a half ago before carrying out the terrorist act, said Sabik.
Regarding the mutilation of the corpse of the policeman, he said that terrorist groups try to commit crimes that generate great resonance and media momentum to achieve their primary goal of intimidation to undermine the pillars of public order, denying the personal nature of the crime and pointing out that the policeman, contrary to what was relayed, was the victim of this terrorist act at his workplace.
In this sense, Sabik noted that these extremists did not document their heinous acts because they were waiting to do so during their imminent major operations of targeting banks to obtain criminal revenues to conduct specific qualitative terrorist operations.
The dangers of the terrorist threat still remain, given that Morocco’s regional environment is characterized by a series of disturbances, especially in the Sahel-Saharan region, he said, noting that the security services tackle these threats with a “zero tolerance” logic.
Sabik stressed that thanks to the efforts of various security services, terrorist threats have been neutralized in recent years.
In this regard, the DGSN spokesperson said that the retreat of “Daesh” and Al Qaeda from their traditional strongholds has resulted in the so-called “regional poles”, which have moved to certain areas marked by a low level of security, such as the Sahel and the Sahara, where terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State in the Great Sahara and the Group of Support for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) are active, in addition to typical organizations affiliated with “Daesh” and “Al -Qaeda” and other organizations active in the region.
In addition, Sabik expressed regret that a foreign media broadcast a statement by Abu Obeida Youssef al-Annabi, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Sahel and Sahara region, in which he directly threatened African countries, stressing that this fact “made us treat this threat with great caution.”
He added that Morocco’s commitment to international efforts to combat and neutralize the risks associated with terrorist threats exposes the Kingdom to a dual threat, namely; the international external threat, since terrorist organizations have issued a number of fatwas inciting to attack Morocco, and the internal threat represented by cells operating locally.
The Kingdom, represented by various security services, led by the Directorate General of Territory Surveillance (DGST), has provided assistance to many countries in the Sahel-Saharan region, said Sabik, noting that the threat of Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi was neutralized on the basis of information provided by the Moroccan security services, which also provided a set of data, at the African continent level that have foiled many terrorist projects.
Regarding the possible return of terrorists and fighters from the hotbeds of tension, Sabik stressed that this is a difficult task especially since some of them have participated in combat operations or held leadership positions in terrorist organizations, or were emirs of a division, members of decision-making bodies, sharia judges or members of brigades, including Moroccans.
In this regard, he said that one of the security operations known as “Tamaris Operation” revealed the presence of fighters who were preparing to carry out underwater terrorist operations to strike targets related to maritime navigation.
The possible return of these fighters, in addition to children born abroad, is a major security challenge, he continued, noting that some of them try to infiltrate under false identities, hence the need for security vigilance to neutralize these risks related to the return of fighters.
Sabik said, moreover, that the DGSN will spare no effort to protect its employees, indicating that the security services have adopted alternative weapons to ensure the safety of the employee, and even the suspect, because the goal is to neutralize the danger within the law.
On the educational level, the spokesperson noted that the DGSN, in coordination with the Ministry of National Education, has launched in recent years awareness campaigns on the dangers of terrorism in the school environment, stressing that the “Police Review” also devotes awareness spots aimed at students and youth to strengthen their self-immunity against the misuse of the Internet.
