Officials in Morocco say the recent killing of two Scandinavian tourists could be linked to activities of terrorists.
This claim was made on Thursday following the arrest of three suspects over the murder case. Investigators say they are tracing a link to Islamic extremism.
Government spokesman Mustapha Khalfi said the killings were “criminal and terrorist act”.
The bodies of Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Maren Ueland from Norway were found on Monday.
The two had set their tent at an isolated mountain site distances away from the tourist village of Imlil.
First arrest was made in the city of Marrakesh, which is often visited by foreign tourists.
AFP quotes a source close to investigators saying that “The radical Islamist line has not been removed, because of the profile of the (first) suspect arrested and the three” others.
These suspects are said to have links to radical Islamic circles.
Meanwhile the central judicial investigations office in Morocco said investigators are assessing and verifying the terrorist motives of the suspects arrested.
The Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen reacted to the terrorism link to the suspects saying that the killings were “politically motivated and thus an act of terror.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg also called the killings “a brutal and meaningless attack on innocent people, which we react to with disgust and condemnation.”
Hundreds of Moroccan youth have reportedly joined militant groups in the Middle East.
The country has been spared to a large extent from terrorist attacks in recent times. Morocco is considered one of the safest places for tourists.
This latest incident is seen as a potential blow to the tourism sector of Morocco.
Source: Africafeeds.com
