Follow up to Casablanca cyber cafe bombing...

[Jenn! 918]

Terror Suspects Killed in Casablanca

Tuesday April 10, 2007 1:01 PM

By JOHN THORNE

Associated Press Writer

RABAT, Morocco (AP) - A suspected terrorist blew himself up and another was shot and killed by police as he was about to set off his explosives Tuesday in Morocco's commercial capital, Casablanca, authorities said.

The men were wanted in the March 11 bombing of a Casablanca Internet cafe, which killed the suspected bomber and injured four others. Police believe the attack was linked to a larger plot to attack Casablanca's port, police stations, and tourist sites in Morocco, which is struggling to contain Islamic extremism.

Police were searching for a third suspect. Police believe two of the suspects, including the man shot by police, were suspects in May 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 45 people.

The bomber in the March 11 blast, Abdelfettah Raydi, detonated his charge when the cybercafe's owner caught him surfing jihadist Web sites.

Moroccan authorities say the blast led them to a larger plot that involved at least 30 people. The group had amassed dozens of kilograms of homemade explosives in a Casablanca apartment.

Police have arrested 31 suspects who have been questioned by judges in preliminary court hearings. Many, including Raydi, were among some two thousand arrested after the 2003 bombings but later released from prison by royal pardon. Moroccan authorities have said they do not believe Raydi's group had links to international terrorist networks.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...6545894,00.html

[sereia 0]

i read a lot more on the subject recently. they had plotted to blow up essaouira, marrakech, and other tourist spots. ughhhhh! thank god they were caught. hopefully no one in the future will make it through.

this story is nowhere to be seen on yahoo world news nor cnn .i checked out of curiosity. very typical of press editing and i am so disgusted by msn. .there is a top story about madonna however. blahhhhhhhhh

Edited April 10, 2007 by abdounjen

[mybackpages 0]

My heart goes out to Morocco. They are such a moderate tolerate country with such promise for democracy. But as long as poverty is high and unemployment is skyrocketing, i worry they will find themselves down the wrong path. I do not have a great deal of conifence in the King, though his intentions may be good for the country.

[Henia 11]

This may be a continuation of the terrorist acts from Alger. Veyr unforuntate... proves nothing but people's ignorance and damages the world's view of the already bad view of MENA

[sereia 0]

my fiance told me there were four bombs today in casablanca. trying to find more articles on that..

[Kakya vstrecha! 0]

that's a rather pedestrian analysis. what does algeria's rubbish have to do with morocco? morocco had no "battle of algiers" and the aftereffects of colonialism in those countries couldn't be more different. addressing "what the rest of the world thinks" doesn't seem to accomplish much either, since i seriously doubt that someone who would blow themself up would list that as a consideration for why they did what they did. pondering that issue certainly isn't going to keep this from happening again. but scratching beneath the surface of this issue takes work and critical thinking, so it's no surprise that so few attempt it.

and i'm so bored with the whole "promise for democracy" line, as if that's the only path to success and achievement. it's nauseatingly ethno-centric. there are other counters to a repressive monarchy besides "democracy".

[mybackpages 0]

that's a rather pedestrian analysis. what does algeria's rubbish have to do with morocco? morocco had no "battle of algiers" and the aftereffects of colonialism in those countries couldn't be more different. addressing "what the rest of the world thinks" doesn't seem to accomplish much either, since i seriously doubt that someone who would blow themself up would list that as a consideration for why they did what they did. pondering that issue certainly isn't going to keep this from happening again. but scratching beneath the surface of this issue takes work and critical thinking, so it's no surprise that so few attempt it.

and i'm so bored with the whole "promise for democracy" line, as if that's the only path to success and achievement. it's nauseatingly ethno-centric. there are other counters to a repressive monarchy besides "democracy".

What's happening in Alergia today with the Islamists groups are directly influencing what is happening in Morocco. There are political difficulties between algeria and Morocco esp over the Western Sahara region, the borders are closed between the two countries etc. You can not dismiss the link Henia makes.

my fiance told me there were four bombs today in casablanca. trying to find more articles on that..

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/st...f58&rfp=dta

here is one story

Although its not much of a story and there doesn't seem to be any word on deaths or injuries.

ETA: Its a terrible time for Morocco because it is the height of the tourist season.

Edited April 11, 2007 by mybackpages

[Kakya vstrecha! 0]

bollocks. algeria’s mess with FIS and GIA are utterly specific to algeria and have nothing to do with morocco. different background, different history, different circumstances, very different political traditions. in morocco algeria’s always been looked at as what not to do, and that goes for all groups. that's it and that's all as far as influence goes. and western sahara? what are you on about? yeah, algeria’s supported the polisario since the seventies with arms and money and whatever, but the polisario has unflinchingly stuck to the ceasefire for 16 years. and terrorism and hurting civilians isn’t really their style. it never has been, but suddenly in 2007 they start it up? under what, pressure from algeria? ridiculous.

[mybackpages 0]

bollocks. algeria's mess with FIS and GIA are utterly specific to algeria and have nothing to do with morocco. different background, different history, different circumstances, very different political traditions. in morocco algeria's always been looked at as what not to do, and that goes for all groups. that's it and that's all as far as influence goes. and western sahara? what are you on about? yeah, algeria's supported the polisario since the seventies with arms and money and whatever, but the polisario has unflinchingly stuck to the ceasefire for 16 years. and terrorism and hurting civilians isn't really their style. it never has been, but suddenly in 2007 they start it up? under what, pressure from algeria? ridiculous.

We seem to be having two different conversations.

[JODO 2]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070411/ap_on_...geria_explosion Edited April 11, 2007 by JODO

[aicha 0]

I am giving you all a few different news links that are more accurate as to all that is happening in Morocco and Algeria. these are updated all the time and the information is better. Let us all remember that we are here for helping each other and all of us are in the same position - marraige and immigration - having disagreements over why things are happeing on terrorist activities and pointing fingers is not something that is necessary.

http://english.aljazeera.net/English

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Morocco+N...amp;fr=ush-news

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070411/wl_af...9bv.5sNYLW96Q8F

http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=Mo...mp;type=feature

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/search/searc...=all&sort=1

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/0...ists/index.html

This should give you a good starting point to keep an eye on things for yourself - I will do my best to continue to provide information as I can since I am living here right now.

[deemabrouk 0]

then i was in egypt.. We heard on the news they found a car with a Bomb in the back seat in Alexandria.. Not that far from my SIL flat.. I dont think it got mentioned in the States...

But..

This dunya is a scary place

[rclouse 0]

ETA: Its a terrible time for Morocco because it is the height of the tourist season.

April is the height of tourist season?

[mybackpages 0]

ETA: Its a terrible time for Morocco because it is the height of the tourist season.

April is the height of tourist season?

From March through June, the Europeans flock to Morocco. Those that work in the tourist industry never worry for work from this time. July and August are all the Moroccans on vacation fewer Europeans.

[Kakya vstrecha! 0]

bollocks. algeria's mess with FIS and GIA are utterly specific to algeria and have nothing to do with morocco. different background, different history, different circumstances, very different political traditions. in morocco algeria's always been looked at as what not to do, and that goes for all groups. that's it and that's all as far as influence goes. and western sahara? what are you on about? yeah, algeria's supported the polisario since the seventies with arms and money and whatever, but the polisario has unflinchingly stuck to the ceasefire for 16 years. and terrorism and hurting civilians isn't really their style. it never has been, but suddenly in 2007 they start it up? under what, pressure from algeria? ridiculous.

We seem to be having two different conversations.

different conversation, how so? did you not say “What's happening in Alergia today with the Islamists groups are directly influencing what is happening in Morocco.”? and just how is that? the two biggest, most influential groups in morocco, the PJD and al adl wal ihsan, have always made it a point to talk about how different they are from the FIS in algeria. they want nothing to do with FIS and have gone to great lengths to express how much they oppose any and all violence. les éradicateurs are a marginal presence at best in morocco, and the huge differences in algeria’s and morocco’s history just doesn’t provide the same proclivity for political violence that algeria’s does.

and so what connection were you trying to draw then by citing algeria’s support for the polisario then? yr right, there are political difficulties, but even at its height it never devolved into the vileness of suicide bombing. there’s no mitigating circumstances to suggest they would all of a sudden start up now with it. yr probably much much more on track when you cited the grinding poverty and appalling rates of unemployment being factors than anything going on with neighbours to the east.