MOROCCO: Morocco claimed yesterday to have captured the mastermind behind the suicide bombers who murdered 31 people in Casablanca but said he had died in custody from heart and liver disease.
State prosecutor Mr Moulay Abdellah Alaoui Belghiti told Moroccan television that Abdelhaq Moulsebbat had been arrested on Monday in the central city of Fes, whose poor districts are reputed to be strongholds of radical Islam.
"His health condition did not allow investigators unfortunately to complete all the elements of the investigation," he said.
He described Moulsabbat as the "general coordinator of the attacks" and "emir" (commander in Arabic) behind the attacks on five central Casablanca locations on May 16th that killed 31 members of the public in addition to 12 suicide bombers.
Moulsebbat died while "he was being taken to hospital", he added, without saying when he died nor how old he was.
"He suffered chronic heart and liver diseases. His liver weighed 2.1 kilograms against the average 1.4 to 1.5 kilograms," Mr Belghiti said.
Another would-be bomber was caught trying to flee, and a second surviving bomber was arrested the following day.
The judicial police in their investigation have been focusing on a small ultra-conservative Islamist group known as al-Assirat al-Moustaquim (The Righteous Path), based in Casablanca's low-income Sidi Moumen neighbourhood and reputed to have followers in other cities, including Fes.
Mr Belghiti added that another group of suspects would appear later yesterday before the public prosecutor. He gave no further details.
Three men charged with direct or indirect involvement in the suicide bombings appeared on Monday before the public prosecutor. Charges include premeditated murder and formation of a criminal band. Their professions were nightwatchman, welder and street vendor, and their ages ranged from 22 to 28 years.
Security forces have raided mainly poor areas of several Moroccan cities in the hunt for suspects or leads - (Reuters)