Arrests in Moroccan Terrorist Network Rises to 56

Moroccan security services have now rounded up 56 people as they dismantle a network allegedly planning terror attacks in the North African kingdom, the interior minister was quoted as saying.

Four of the suspects were women, including the wives of two pilots for the national airline, Royal Air Maroc, said Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa, quoted on the official MAP news agency Thursday.

When the crackdown was first announced Aug. 7, police said 44 people had been arrested, including five former soldiers with explosives expertise. The operation has been continuing.

Morocco's government has cracked down on suspected terrorists since suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003 left 45 people dead and stunned a nation where most espouse moderate Islam.

In the recent raids, police seized explosives, laboratory materials and propaganda leaflets, officials have said.

The group's leader was a former convict who recruited Islamic radicals to train them in explosives use and planned to wage a holy war, the ministry has said. The group allegedly also sought to finance its activities through robberies of financial institutions and bank trucks.

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