France says murder of tourist in Morocco could be terrorism-related

France’s National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) on Wednesday opened an investigation to determine whether the killing of a French tourist in Tiznit in southern Morocco last weekend was a terrorism-related incident.

The 79-year-old Frenchwoman was attacked and killed in the local market. She had been camping in a small village near the city.

Police have arrested a 31-year-old suspect, who allegedly also tried to attack a Belgian tourist before fleeing to nearby Agadir.

He was arrested there the same day.

An investigative judge in Rabat decided to place the suspect, who has a history of mental illness, in the Razi psychiatric hospital in Salé.

"The investigation will remain open while the suspect undergoes medical examinations," he said, according to AFP.

Moroccan government spokesman Mustapha Baitas said during a press conference on Thursday that the crime was an isolated incident commited by a person with a “particular mental condition".

“Attacks on foreigners are not a phenomenon in Morocco, rather, they are isolated incidents,” said the spokesperson.

However, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked French tourists to be vigilant in all public places and when traveling in the Kingdom, in a press release addressed to travellers and posted on the website of the French Embassy in Morocco.