The black flag of the Islamic State (IS) is shown along a road in Fallujah, Iraq, one of the territories that the jihadist group had seized over the past weeks. Moroccos interior minister on Wednesday said many Moroccan extremists fighting in Iraq and Syria have joined IS fighters and are plotting terror attacks on prominent figures and sites back home.

RABAT, Morocco: Morocco’s interior minister says that Moroccan extremists fighting in Iraq and Syria are plotting terror attacks on prominent figures and sites back home.

State news agency MAP quotes Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad as saying that 1,212 Moroccans belong to terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, including the Islamic State group, and several Moroccans have committed suicide attacks there.

Hassad told legislators Tuesday the extremists are joining the Islamic State “not only to fight at its side, but also to receive training with a view to staging attacks against the kingdom.” He didn’t give any details on the possible terrorist plots.

Moroccan authorities have dismantled several cells accused of recruiting fighters to join jihadists in Syria. Human rights groups say Moroccan authorities sometimes go overboard in pursuing alleged terrorists.

 
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