Morocco arrests three people suspected of 'planning IS attacks'

Moroccan authorities arrested three people suspected of planning terrorist attacks inspired by the Islamic State group (IS) in the port city of Tangiers, said the ministry of interior on Wednesday.

The suspects who were arrested on Sunday and Monday had close ties to Moroccan members of IS in Syria and Iraq and "had planned to carry out attacks against people who do not share their extreme ideology," said the ministry of interior in a statement.

"They planned to carry out robberies to fund their journey to Daesh training camps," added the statement that used the Arabic acronym for IS.

The announcement of the arrests comes only days after Moroccan authorities said they arrested a Belgian of Moroccan descent who had direct ties with the ringleader of the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris.

The interior ministry on Monday announced the arrest of a man who had reportedly travelled to Syria with one of the Paris suicide bombers, where he is said to have received military training and built relationships with IS field commanders.

Analysts believe Morocco's recent successes in disrupting terror cells and apprehending terror suspects are largely due to the newly formed Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, which has been dubbed as "Morocco's FBI".

Idris Elksouri, a Moroccan security analyst told The New Arab that security services, especially the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, were carrying out preemptive measures across the country.

These measures have led to the arrest of 23 terrorist cells since the formation of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations last March, according to Elksouri.