Morocco arrests 10 in alleged IS-Sahel-linked plot

July 8, 2026

1–2 minutes

Summary

Morocco said it foiled an alleged IS-Sahel-linked plot, underscoring continued security concerns across Morocco, Spain corridors.

Why this matters

The arrests point to continued concern among Moroccan and Spanish authorities about militant networks operating across North Africa and southern Europe. The case also highlights how security cooperation between the two countries is being used to track cross-border recruitment, financing, and attack planning.

Morocco’s Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations said July 6, 2026, that it had disrupted an alleged attack plot by a cell tied to Islamic State’s Sahel branch and arrested 10 suspects in raids across Agadir, Taroudant, Casablanca, Hajeb, Tetouan, Fqih Ben Salah, and Safi.

The agency said the suspects had pledged allegiance to Islamic State and were receiving direction from its Sahel branch. Authorities said searches found bladed weapons, military-style uniforms, bomb-making instructions, digital files, chemical precursors, and a modified vehicle believed intended for a suicide bombing or ramming attack. A separate warehouse, the agency said, held butane canisters and pressure cookers, some packed with nails and wired for detonation.

Moroccan authorities said more than 130 Moroccans had been recruited by Islamic State’s African branches in recent years. Since the bureau’s founding in 2015, it has dismantled dozens of militant cells and detained more than 1,000 suspected jihadists, according to the agency.

In March 2026, a joint Morocco-Spain operation that dismantled a three-man cell based in Tangier and Palma de Mallorca. Two suspects were arrested in Tangier, and an alleged ringleader was detained in Palma, according to open-source reporting and the two countries’ security services.

Authorities said the Tangier suspects provided financing and logistical support to Islamic State fighters in the Sahel, Somalia, and other areas south of the Sahara, while the Palma suspect consumed propaganda online and planned an attack in Spain inspired by “individual terrorism.”

In February 2025, Morocco’s Bureau Central d’Investigation Judiciaire announced it had dismantled a network of about 12 people across nine cities, including Casablanca, Fez, Tangier, and Errachidia. Officials said the group, which called itself the “Lions of the Caliphate in the Maghreb,” operated on behalf of Islamic State’s Sahel Province and was preparing remotely detonated bomb attacks on Moroccan targets under direct guidance from IS-Sahel commanders.

Cherkaoui Habboub, head of the bureau, said at the time that the case showed IS-Sahel sought to establish an operational presence in Morocco and recruit Moroccans for conflicts in the Sahel and Somalia. He said the group “does not hide its desire to target Morocco” in its propaganda.

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