Islamist terrorists suspected in murder of Scandinavian tourists in Morocco
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/19/islamist-terrorists-suspected-murder-scandinavian-tourists-morocco/
Two Scandinavian tourists killed in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains were the victims of a terrorist attack, prosecutors believe.
One man has been arrested following the discovery on Monday of the bodies of 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway.
One of the women had been beheaded, a source told AFP.
A suspect in the murder was arrested in Marrakech on Tuesday, and was known to have ties to radical Islamist terror networks.
Police are hunting for three other suspects.
Boubker Sabik, a police spokesman, said terrorism was suspected and that the three suspects on the run had been “identified and a search for them is under way by all the security services”.
One of the three had “a court record linked to terrorist acts”, he said, while the prosecutor general’s office said the man in custody also belonged to an extremist group.
“Radical Islam is not ruled out, due to the profile of the suspect arrested and of the three men wanted,” a source close to the investigation told AFP.
The women’s bodies were found in an isolated area near Imlil, on the way to Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak and a popular hiking destination.
Investigations are also continuing to authenticate a video tape shared on social media claiming to show the killing of one of the tourists, the General Prosecutor said in a statement.
State broadcaster 2M released photos and videos yesterday (WEDS) of forensic investigators and others working around the women’s brightly coloured tent on a rocky hillside. The broadcaster said the tent held food and belongings for three people, including an ID card.
A local guide who works in the area told AFP the body of one woman was found inside the tent, and the other outside of it.
The guide, who declined to be identified, said the area where they were found was also frequented by three men from Marrakesh, including the one who was arrested.
Security was stepped up in the region and hiking suspended following the discovery of the bodies, Moroccan media said.
“It’s very bad for the region. There will undoubtedly be cancellations,” a local guide, Hossein, told AFP from Imlil.
The most recent jihadist attack hit Morocco in 2011, when 17 people were killed in Marrakesh. An attack in the financial capital Casablanca left 33 dead in 2003.
Tourism is a cornerstone of Morocco’s economy and the kingdom’s second-largest employer, after agriculture.
The sector accounts for 10 per cent of national income and is one of the country’s main sources of foreign currency.
After several years of near-stagnation, Morocco welcomed a record 11.35 million visitors in 2017, exceeding the 11-million mark for the first time.
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