Salafia Jihadia
Salafia Jihadia | |
---|---|
Dates of operation | 1990s–present[needs update] |
Active regions | Morocco Spain Western Sahara |
Ideology | Salafi jihadism |
Size | 400+ (2002)[1] |
Allies | |
Opponents |
Salafia Jihadia (
The group was known for its participation in the 2003 Casablanca bombings, in which twelve suicide bombers killed 33 people and injured over 100.[1] Salafia Jihadia has variously been described as a movement or loose network of groups, or as a generic term applied by Moroccan authorities for militant Salafi activists.[7][8]
History
This section needs to be updated.(December 2023) |
Salafia Jihadia was formed in the early 1990s by Mujahideen veterans of the Soviet–Afghan War.[1] The group was formed in opposition to the Arab states, including Morocco, that had joined the coalition against Iraq in the Gulf War.[3][7] Along with the Takfir wal-Hijra group, Salafia Jihadia was eventually responsible for around 300 murders in Morocco as punishment for "non-Islamic behaviour."[1] The group has been associated with the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM).[1][2] It also had links to the former Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG).[3][4] By 2002 the group had begun establishing ties with al-Qaeda, and had 400 known members.[1]
In 2002 members of the group were among those arrested as part of an al-Qaeda plot to attack Western shipping in the Strait of Gibraltar with a speedboat manned by suicide bombers.[3] In July 2003, in a trial unrelated to the Casablanca bombings, ten members of the group were sentenced to death, and eight others to life imprisonment.[9] In February 2004, two cells in Fez and Meknes were dismantled, with 37 people arrested after explosives and weapons were discovered during raids.[10] A Salafia Jihadia network operating in several Moroccan towns, including Mohammedia near Casablanca was unravelled by security forces in March 2005.[3] In December 2006, Spanish authorities announced that a cell of eleven people, ten Spanish citizens and one Moroccan associated with Salafia Jihadia had been dismantled.[3] According to Spanish anti-terrorism judge Baltasar Garzón, members of jihadist cells in northern Morocco speak Spanish fluently and can easily slip in and out of Spain due to the short distance.[3]
After a decade of operating in secret, the group began to publicly appear in Morocco alongside
Organisation and ideology
Salafia Jihadia is said to function as a network of several loosely affiliated Salafist groups and cells, including groups such as al Hijra Wattakfir, Attakfir Bidum Hijra, Assirat al Mustaqim, Ansar al Islam and Moroccan Afghans.[3][14] The spiritual leader and founder of the group is Mohammed Fizazi , former imam of the al-Quds Mosque (which was shut down by German authorities in 2010).[1][3] Fizazi was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for his radical statements and connection to the Casablanca bombings.[15] Salafia Jihadia has since spawned a wider ideological movement out of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.[2]
Casablanca bombings
On 16 May 2003, twelve suicide bombers from the Salafia Jihadia cell Al-Sirat Al-Musqatim ("The Correct Path") were responsible for four coordinated bombing attacks targeting Westerners and Jews in Casablanca, which killed 33 people (plus all twelve suicide bombers) and injured over 100.[2][16][6][17] In the aftermath of the bombings, up to more than 2,000 individuals were prosecuted in Morocco in a wide-scale crackdown on Islamists and criminals.[7][18][19] The Moroccan Justice Ministry subsequently claimed that Salafia Jihadia had 699 activists in the country.[7] Some of the suicide bombers who failed to detonate their vests were captured by police.[20] Three of the failed bombers and another person, all members of Salafia Jihadia, were sentenced to death in August 2003.[21] In September, a court in Kenitra gave 27 people, also all members of Salafia Jihadia sentences ranging from six months to 15 years for their involvement in the attacks.[21]
As part of the crackdown after the Casablanca bombings, a court in Rabat in September 2003 sentenced a Frenchman, Robert Richard Antoine Pierre (aka Abu Abderrahmane) and three other members of Salafia Jihadia to life, while 22 others were given sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years imprisonment.[18][19][21] Accused of plotting attacks in Tangier, Pierre was stated to have founded the Salafia Jihadia cell Al-Oussoud Khalidine ("Timeless Lions"), which had sent recruits for training in Afghanistan.[3][22] At least sixteen members of the group were identified, many of whom fled to Spain via Ceuta, while eight were arrested in Morocco.[3]
In November 2007, a trial was opened against 51 people arrested across several cities suspected of involvement with the Casablanca bombings, who were mainly associated with Salafia Jihadia.[3] Others convicted as part of the attacks were members of GICM.[1]
Salafia Jihadia is also thought to have had connections to and been involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded over 2,000.[2] One of the terrorists convicted for the bombings, Jamal Zougam, was known to the intelligence services of several countries for his links to a complex international jihadist network that included Salafia Jihadia.[23] Zougam was also implicated by some of the failed suicide bombers who had been captured in the Casablanca bombings.[20]
References
- ^ ISBN 9781428994362.
- ^ a b c d e f "Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group". Stanford University. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Botha, Anneli (June 2008). "Terrorism in the Maghreb: The Transnationalisation of Domestic Terrorism: Chapter 3: Terrorism in Morocco". Institute for Security Studies.
- ^ a b "Africa Insight". 36 (2–4). Africa Institute. 2006: 72.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b "Moroccan Salafi Group hijacks Arab Spring". Asharq Al-Awsat. 3 October 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9781442262973.
- ^ a b c d Pargeter, Alison. "The Islamist Movement in Morocco". Terrorism Monitor. 3 (10). Jamestown Foundation.
- ISBN 9780833045089.
- ^ "Two Britons face terror charges in Morocco". The Guardian. 2 August 2003.
- ISBN 9780275995300.
- ^ "Morocco king pardons jailed Islamist leaders". Al Arabiya News. Reuters. 5 February 2012.
- ^ Sakthivel, Vish (15 July 2014). "The Islamic State Goes After Morocco's Islamists". The Washington Institute.
- ^ Lahcen, Mawassi (14 November 2014). "Morocco: Islamic State Tempts Morocco Jihadists". allafrica.com.
- ^ "Salafia Jihadia". Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ISBN 9780810879652.
- ISBN 9781614991090.
- ^ "9 Imprisoned For Casablanca Blasts Escape". The New York Times. Agence France-Presse. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Convert to Islam gets life sentence". The Guardian. 19 September 2003.
- ^ a b "France's 'blue-eyed emir' jailed for life over terrorist plots". The Telegraph. 20 September 2003.
- ^ a b "The Morocco Connection". The Irish Times. 20 March 2004.
- ^ ISBN 9781607500063.
- ^ "Three get life in Morocco trial". BBC. 19 September 2003.
- ^ "Bombings suspect has terror link". The Guardian. 16 March 2004.