U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2006 - Morocco

The Moroccan government continued with internal reforms that aimed to address the socio-economic conditions extremists exploit for recruitment. The National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), launched by King Mohammed VI in 2005, is designed to combat poverty, generate employment, and improve infrastructure. INDH projects have focused on rural areas. Morocco's Ministry of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs (MOIA) continued reforms begun in 2004 to counter extremist ideology and promote religious tolerance and moderation. Thirty Imams were dismissed in an effort to eliminate extremist ideology in the mosques, and the Ministry supervised revisions to the country's religious curriculum, broke with precedent by appointing 50 women to serve as Islamic spiritual guides in mosques across the country, and installed a closed circuit television network that broadcast moderate religious lectures and sermons to 2,000 mosques daily.

Moroccan efforts to combat terrorism were overhauled and upgraded following coordinated suicide bombings in Casablanca in May 2003 that left 45 persons dead. In the investigation that followed, approximately 3,000 persons suspected of connections to the network were detained, some of whom remain imprisoned. The Moroccan government continued to aggressively investigate and detain terrorist suspects. Minister of Interior Chakib Ben Moussa announced in late November that 300 terrorist suspects had been detained during the year.

Several terrorist cells were identified and disrupted. In March, members of the "Ben Hadi Cell," allegedly tied to (AQIM/GSPC) were arrested. In July, 56 alleged members of the "Mehdi Support Group," led by Hassan al-Khatab, an extremist first jailed after the 2003 Casablanca bombings, were arrested. In November, 13 alleged members of another group were arrested. All three terror cells had identified targets, procured explosives, and initiated planning for attacks against both domestic and foreign interests in Morocco.

Morocco continued with steps to counter terrorism finance and to strengthen controls against money laundering. At the end of 2006, the Parliament was in the final stages of preparing new anti-money laundering legislation that will provide a comprehensive legal basis for the monitoring, investigation, and prosecution of illegal financial activities.