Senior ISIS member arrested in Greece with Morocco’s help

SMA NEWS – RABAT

Acting on a lead by Morocco’s security services, Greek authorities were able to arrest Tuesday a 28-year-old Moroccan national who had held senior positions within the Islamist State (ISIS) extremist group, said Moroccan new agency MAP.

According to a Moroccan security source, the arrest of the suspect was the result of a joint coordination and exchange of intelligence carried out “with the active contribution of Moroccan security services and their counterparts in Greece, Italy, England and the United States.”

A key role in this regard was played by Morocco’s General Directorate of Studies and Documents and the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance.

The suspect was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the Moroccan authorities over his alleged involvement in preparing major terrorist plots and the perpetration of “sabotage operations” in Morocco at the instigation of ISIS, the source pointed out.

The suspect, known as “Abu Muhammad al-Fateh”, had joined ISIS in Syria in 2014, before holding senior positions in the so-called “special division” of ISIS in the Deir ez-Zor region, and in the so-called “religious police” Or “Hisbah” in the Wilaya of Raqqa.

He was also shown on a videotape documenting executing a Syrian fighter and later mutilating his dead body and threatening those he called “the enemies of religion”.

The ISIS senior operative was able to escape from Syria and cross into Europe, via Greece, using forged personal documents and a fake identity, before being arrested as part of a joint security operation, the source pointed out.

MAP added that Moroccan judicial authorities have been notified of the arrest of the suspect and coordination is underway with the Greek authorities through the Interpol office of the Moroccan General Directorate of National Security in order to formalise the extradition procedure of the suspect.

According to the same source, the successful security operation in which Moroccan security services actively contributed, “underlines the importance of international security cooperation in fighting terrorism and tracking down members of terrorist organisations.”