About 300 Moroccans killed fighting with Daesh in Iraq, Syria

Morocco’s Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said around 300 citizens from the North African country have been killed over the past two years while fighting alongside Daesh (ISIS) militant groups in crisis-hit states, particularly Iraq and Syria.

Hassad told reporters on Monday that a total of 1,350 Moroccans have left the country since 2013, of whom 286 were killed as they joined the ranks of militant outfits in the two crisis-hit Middle Eastern countries, Arabic-language al-Alam satellite news network reported.

Earlier this year, Moroccan authorities said they had arrested members of a “terrorist cell” that had pledged allegiance to Daesh extremists and that planned to carry out a string of assassinations in the country.

Morocco’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on March 22 that the extremists were nabbed during a series of raids carried out in several cities, including Agadir, 546 kilometers (339 miles) southwest of the capital, Rabat, in the south, Boujaad in the center, Tangiers in the north, Ain Harouda near Casablanca as well as Western Sahara region.

According to an October 2014 report by the UN Security Council, 15,000 foreigners have flocked to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the Daesh or other extremist groups.

European countries have repeatedly expressed concern over Daesh’s influence across the continent. Authorities fear that the European militants will use their combat skills against their countries upon returning home.

Daesh controls some parts of Iraq and Syria. The group has also claimed responsibility for a number of militant attacks in other countries, including Tunisia and Libya.

This story has been edited from the source material.