CASABLANCA ON THE MORNING AFTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L CASABLANCA 000079

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG, INR/NESA/NAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2017
TAGS: MO PGOV PINR PREL
SUBJECT: CASABLANCA ON THE MORNING AFTER

REF: A) CASABLANCA 000064
B) 06 CASABLANCA 000409

Classified By: Principal Officer Douglas C. Greene for Reasons 1.4
(b),(d).


1. (C) Summary: Tuesday's events in Casablanca continue to
reverberate locally, provoking comment and concern at all levels in
the city. The events, as described by police sources here, are now
broadly known. Police continue to search for more suspects with
possible links to Tuesday's incidents and the March 11 cyber caf
bombing. As a precautionary measure, security officials are
enforcing strict security measures in public buildings and stationing
roadblocks around the city. Reports of near riots against the
police in the neighborhood of al-Fida as a reaction to a perception
of an ineffectual system of security have diminished in the last
36-hours. End Summary.

Details from the Casablanca Police


2. (C) Following a tip, in the early morning hours of April 10,
Moroccan security forces identified three terror suspects attending
prayers at a local mosque. Police followed the suspects to a rented
apartment in the al-Fida neighborhood where they closed in on the
group. One suspect, according to reports, exited the building
brandishing a sword as he rushed the police. Police shot and fatally
wounded the suspect who was later found to be wearing nine pounds of
explosives. At the same time, a second suspect moved to the roof of
the building where he blew himself up after realizing escape was
unlikely. Police reported that these suspects were wanted for
alleged involvement in the May 2003, Casablanca bombings that killed
45 people. Another suspect escaped the building at approximately the
same time, also wearing an explosive device. This suspect,
identified as Ayyoub Raydi, brother of March 11 cyber caf suicide
bomber Abdelfattah Raydi, detonated his belt at a police checkpoint
in the early afternoon killing himself, a police officer, and
wounding several witnesses, including a child. Police later
identified a fourth suspect linked to the group who detonated
explosives he was wearing in the middle of a busy boulevard wounding
eight, two seriously.


3. (C) Police linked all four suspects to a group responsible for
the March 11 bombing at an internet caf in the slums of Sidi Moumen.
The police reported that the internet caf suicide bomber,
Abdelfettah Raydi, may have been the leader of a ring of Islamic
radicals with plans to attack Moroccan government offices and other
targets in the country. Since the March 11 attack, police have
rounded up more than 30-suspected members of Raydi's group, many of
them beneficiaries of royal amnesty (ref A),like Raydi himself.
According to official press reports, early Thursday, police announced
the arrest two more suspects who may have connections to the Raydi
group. Also on Thursday, the Ministry of the Interior announced that
there may be three or four more suspects at large.


4. (C) The GOM and local authorities were careful to describe the
bombers as unconnected to any international rings but instead labeled
them as homegrown and Moroccan funded. Moroccan experts on Islamic
extremism, however, have publicly challenged that notion in the past
24 hours, saying that the locals involved could not develop such an
extensive network or amass the weapons and explosives on their own,
especially while under the close surveillance to which many have been
subject for some time.

Developments on the Ground


5. (C) After Tuesday's bombings, police set up roadblocks and
checkpoints around the city. We have heard reports that more
government buildings are requiring security checks in the wake of the
attacks. We also understand that public hospitals, for example, that
previously had no security checks, now have strict screening
measures. Western-associated hotels in Casablanca (like the Hyatt)
now have extensive pre-checks, including metal detectors, at
entrances. At 2 p.m., the slow line to pass through the metal
detector at the Hyatt was 15 persons deep.


6. (C) City authorities have gone to great lengths to paint a picture
of a brave and active population, cooperating with security
authorities in the fight against terrorism. However, in a
neighborhood that was once know for low crime, citizens of al-Fida
are now afraid and blame police for not keeping the terrorists at
bay. We have heard reports that local residents have been harassing
the police since the incident, accusing them of not performing their
job. In addition, there were reports of near riots during and after
the initial standoff with the suspects, early Tuesday morning.
Consulate's FSNI visited the area after the explosions and was told
by those from the neighborhood that locals were ready to apprehend
the suspects themselves when police held back in an attempt to take
the suspects alive. The terrorists apparently had rented an
apartment, in this once quiet neighborhood, approximately one to two
months ago to avoid detection and frequent sweeps of areas notorious
for harboring extremists in the past.

Royal Visit


7. (C) One day after the bombings, King Mohammed VI visited to two
hospitals in Casablanca treating security officers and civilians
wounded in the incidents. The King thanked the wounded civilians for
their courage in the face of danger, paid homage to the wounded
police officers, and offered condolences to the family of the police
inspector killed by the bomber in the line of duty. In addition, he
made it clear that officers would be well cared for if wounded while
trying to protect the kingdom from the actions of terrorists. Each
wounded security officer will receive 250,000 Moroccan dirhams (USD
30,000) and a royal decoration for his efforts in stopping the
terrorists. The amount to be given to the family of the deceased
officer has not been disclosed but rumors have estimates in the
millions of dirhams.


8. (C) Comment: There is considerable concern in Casablanca that a
number of terror suspects associated with this cell are still at
large and prepared to detonate explosive devices at any time. There
is concern too, among Moroccans we speak to, that the GOM is
reluctant to concede that the group may be linked to an international
terrorist organization. Fear of being seen as a target for
international terrorists could have an effect on Morocco's vital
tourist industry, seriously affecting its economy. However,
international terrorist connections cannot be ruled out and according
to local experts, indeed should not. End Comment

GREENE