New Year’s Celebrations: European Police Request Moroccan Assistance

Moroccan security and intelligence services have been asked by their European counterparts to help in securing the New Year’s Eve celebrations against growing terror threats, according to Moroccan press reports.

This is neither a first nor a surprise request, says Al Ahdath Al Maghribiya daily, noting that the European security agencies have issued a red alert following the terror threats made by ISIS militants in their social media shatters.

According to the press reports, the Islamist extremists have threatened to attack several European countries during New Year’s celebrations. These threats have pushed European security officials to seek Moroccan assistance.

Thus, the Moroccan-European security coordination has been lifted to its highest levels with information sharing on terrorist networks.

Security will be tightened in all Western capitals including London, Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Berlin, New York… with the deployment of armed police in entertainment venues, public transportations, strategic sites…

Moroccan intelligence helped to avert several terror attacks in Europe with the information it collects and shares with its regional and international partners.

The counterterrorism services of the North African Kingdom helped France, Belgium and Spain thwart a number of terror attacks. It was Moroccan intelligence that helped locate Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the mastermind of the November 2015 deadly attacks in Paris.

In September 2016, Morocco’s intelligence service informed German authorities that Anas Amiri was about to perpetrate a terrorist attack on German soil three months before he did.

The Moroccan government’s counterterrorism efforts have effectively mitigated the risk of terrorism. According to some experts, one of the main factors helping to keep Morocco’s jihadists in check is the competence of its security forces.

The country’s powerful intelligence agency, national police force, paramilitary police and Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (Morocco’s version of the FBI) work closely with their American and European counterparts, receive extensive training and are highly skilled and professional