A bomb in Marrakesh that killed 16 people was set off by a remote-control device and bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda, a Moroccan minister said.
“The way in which this act was carried out reminds us of the style normally used by the al-Qaeda organization,” Moroccan Interior Minister Taeb Cherkaoui told reporters on Friday.
He also said 13 of those killed had been identified: They were seven French nationals, two Canadians, two Moroccans, a Dutch national and a British national.
A medical source said that the 16 dead in Thursday’s explosion comprised eight French nationals, two Canadians, two Moroccans, a British man, a Dutchman, a Swiss man and a Portuguese man.
The British man was identified as Peter Moss, 59, from London, according to the Jewish Chronicle newspaper. The father of two was a writer, comedian and broadcaster, according to the London-based publication.
Another report in the Israeli media suggested that a 30-year-old pregnant Israeli woman and her husband, originally from Morocco, had been among the victims.
“Initial inquiries have shown an explosive product made up of nitrate and ammonium and two TATP [triacetone triperoxyde] explosives and also with nails — and the explosion was set off from a distance,”Cherkaoui told deputies earlier in Rabat, Morocco.
TATP is relatively easy to make and has surfaced in a number of recent investigations into attacks, including the July 2005 London bombings that killed 56 people and injured another 700.
Witnesses said the blast went off on the terrace of the Argana cafe, a popular tourist cafe in Djemaa el-Fna, Marrakesh’s main square, wrecking the facade and the first floor.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing since the attack took place. However, a video posted on the Internet three days before the bombing and attributed to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb included a threat to Morocco.
It showed five young men, armed, dressed in desert fatigues, their faces covered by the Arab headdress, or shemagh. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has been active in countries in the region, notably carrying out a series of kidnappings for ransom.
French intelligence and anti-terrorism experts on Friday traveled to Marrakesh to help in the probe, a Moroccan official said. International police agency Interpol said it had offered its help.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese