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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #2526/01 3530917
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY ADX712C31 MSI8698 - 648)
P 190917Z DEC 05
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2315
INFO RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 0983
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 3917
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 5287
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2693
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS RABAT 002526 
 
SIPDIS 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y - CAPTION ADDED 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, S/CT-RHONDA SHORE, S/CT-ED SALAZAR 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC PGOV PREL MO
 
SUBJECT:  MOROCCO: 2005 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM 
 
REF: A: SECSTATE 193439 
     B: SECSTATE 187700 
 
¶1.  As requested ref A, Post submits the following text for 
Department's use in drafting the 2005 Country Reports on 
Terrorism.  Embassy POC for this report is Political Officer 
Chad Stevens (StevensCI@state.gov). 
 
¶2.  Begin Text: 
 
Morocco 
 
The Government of Morocco remains a steadfast ally of the 
international community in the global war on terror.  Under 
the leadership of King Mohammed VI, the Government undertook 
during 2005 important internal reforms to address the root, 
socio-economic conditions that create opportunity for 
extremist recruitment.  Toward this end, King Mohammed VI 
launched in May 2005 the National Initiative for Human 
Development to combat poverty, create jobs, and improve 
infrastructure.  The USD 1.2 billion initiative targets 
Morocco's poorest rural areas and worst urban slums as a 
means to eliminate the economic conditions that foster 
exclusion and despair. 
 
Morocco also continued implementation of reforms to the 
Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (MOIA), first 
announced in April 2004, to promote religious moderation and 
tolerance.  The reforms include measures to counter 
extremist ideology within Koranic schools and mosques, and a 
12-month training program for incoming male and female imams 
initiated in April 2005.  Spreading a message of tolerance 
and openness, the MOIA also launched in 2005 a radio station 
whose daily broadcasts cover almost all of Morocco.  The 
ministry also continued development of its TV station and 
website in 2005. 
 
Morocco experienced terrorism when, on May 16, 2003, 
Moroccan suicide bombers affiliated with the Salafiya 
Jihadiya movement attacked several sites in Casablanca 
killing 45 people (including the 12 bombers) and injuring 
100 others.  The Government's swift and ongoing crackdown of 
the Salafiya Jihadiya movement has yielded the arrest of an 
estimated 3,000 extremists and the sentencing of at least 
900 individuals for crimes under the country's new anti- 
terrorism law.  Many of these cases are still active in the 
judicial system, which, in 2005, acquitted at least nine 
suspects and reduced the prison sentences of at least 30 
individuals. 
 
On March 22, 2005, the Judicial Police arrested seven 
individuals from a Salafiya Jihadiya cell in Mohammedia on 
suspicions they were planning attacks against a supermarket 
and restaurants along the coastline near Casablanca.  In 
July 2005, Moroccan authorities arrested seven more 
individuals comprising another Salafiya Jihadiya cell in 
Rabat's neighboring city Sale.  According to press reports, 
the cell plotted attacks in Rabat and other cities. 
Moroccan police linked the Sale cell to six Moroccans whom 
Algerian authorities returned to Morocco after they were 
arrested while training with militants from the Algerian 
terrorist group, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat 
(GSPC).  In November 2005, Moroccan security forces 
dismantled a 17-member incipient terrorist network that had 
links to small terrorist groups active in Iraq.  Two of the 
five Moroccans who were detained in Guantanamo Bay and 
returned to Morocco in August 2004 were among those arrested 
in the operation. 
 
Moroccan-born extremists associated with the al-Qaida- 
affiliated Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) were 
implicated in the March 11, 2004 train blasts in Madrid. 
Although the recent dismantlement of GICM cells in Europe 
has weakened the group, individual members remain at large. 
 
End Text. 
 
¶3.  Given the Secretary of State's designation of GICM as a 
Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 11, 2005 (ref B), 
and per ref A instructions, Post is also including the 
following information on the GICM. 
 
¶4.  Begin Text: 
 
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) 
a.k.a. Groupe Islamique Combatant Marocain 
Description 
Moroccan Mujahedin in Afghanistan set up the Moroccan 
Islamic Combat Group (GICM) in the mid-1990s to recruit and 
train Moroccans to fight in Morocco.  The group seeks to 
overthrow the Moroccan Government and monarchy, replacing 
them with an Islamist state ruled by sharia law.  Its long- 
term goal is the unification of all Muslim lands into a 
renewed caliphate.  Since 2001, the GICM has dispersed into 
cells in Morocco, Syria, and various European cities. 
Activities 
GICM cells facilitate the movement of extremists and funds 
in Europe and foreign fighters headed for Iraq to conduct 
attacks against Coalition forces.  GICM members were 
implicated in terrorist attacks in Casablanca in May 2003 
and Madrid in March 2004.  Over the last year, authorities 
have dismantled important GICM cells in France, Belgium, and 
Italy.  Nevertheless, individual members are still at large. 
Strength 
Several dozen individuals in Europe, the Middle East, and 
Morocco. 
Location/Area of Operation 
Mostly in Europe, notably in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, 
and the United Kingdom. 
External Aid 
GICM receives financial support from other terrorist groups 
and personal contributions from members who often engage in 
criminal activities.  GICM leader Mohamed Guerbouzi, who 
resides in England, was recently granted a financial 
settlement as a result of his libel suit against a British 
tabloid that connected him to the July 2005 bombings in 
London and claimed he was on the run. 
 
¶5.  In accordance with ref A, Post has sent the above text 
as a Word Document to S/CT POCs Rhonda Shore and Ed Salazar. 
Bush