Seven suspected IS militants arrested in Morocco

Moroccan security authorities have arrested on Tuesday seven extremists with alleged ties to the Islamic State group who were allegedly planning on travelling to Libya to join the branch in the country.

According to the Moroccan ministry of interior, the seven militants were active in cities in South Morocco.

The militants were allegedly initially planning to join IS in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq but changed their destination to Libya.

They were attempting to enter through the Moroccan Mauritanian border with the help of the Polisario Front, an Algerian-backed Polisario Front militant group made up of native Sahrawis calling for independence in Western Sahara.

Earlier this month three people were suspected of planning terrorist attacks inspired by IS in the port city of Tangiers, 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.

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.