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| Africa: North |
| Two die in Morocco police raid |
| 2004-01-27 |
| A policeman and a suspect have died during a Moroccan police raid on Islamic militants. Sorry to hear about the cop. Also sorry only one suspect died. Four police officers were injured when police moved into two villages near the town of Meknes in an operation which resulted in the arrest of 35 people. The Moroccan authorities have been on the hunt for Islamic fundamentalists since five bomb blasts killed 45 people last May in Casablanca. The raid is reported to have uncovered explosives and forgery equipment. Can’t be a islamo fundi without explosives and phoney papers. Security forces raided what they believed was a cell of Salafiya Jihadia - the Islamic extremist group accused of carrying out the Casablanca attacks. Meknes, some 100 kilometres from the capital, Rabat, is known to be the home of several radical Islamic groups. The BBC’s Pascale Harter in Morocco says the government is pursuing a two-pronged approach to rid the country of the terror threat. On the one hand they are cracking down on Islamic fundamentalists and on the other they are building housing to replace the shanty towns that plague Moroccan cities and are viewed as the breeding ground of suicide bombers. I guess urban renewal is good, but I haven’t seen any proof that a nice house keeps you from blowing people up. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 possibly they also figured out that in a shanty town, it's difficult to know who's who and where they live. In a developed area of residences, all owners are known, all people start to have a stake in owning property, and strikes against the gov't that helped them get that residence will be frowned upon |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-1-27 6:10:11 PM |
| #3 "a nice house keeps you from blowing people up. " well it doesnt if you live in Saudi and are exposed to the most intense terror incitement in the world, and it doesnt if you live in Europe and feel humiliated by the weakness of the muslim world. This doesnt rule out that in some specific locales poverty, unemployment and living conditions play a role. Evidently the Moroccans think it does play a role there. They are not relying ONLY on that however, but seem to be vigourously arresting people. Lets hope the 35 mentioned above arent going to be released anytime soon, and WILL be pressed for all possible intell. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-1-27 10:18:08 AM |
| #2 It says somethng that they producers of Blackhawk Down searched all over Africa and Southern Spain for a place that strongly resembled Mogadieshu. They settled on Morocco and said that it perfectly fit their needs. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-27 9:20:25 AM |
| #1 The raid is reported to have uncovered explosives and forgery equipment. In Islamic utopia, all documents will be forged all the time. |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-1-27 9:13:05 AM |