Tips from Moroccan security services spared Germany a terrorist plot, led to nab German-Egyptian Islamist extremist

Thanks to tips and accurate information provided by Morocco’s General Directorate for the Surveillance of the National Territory (DGST) to the German intelligence services, a German-Egyptian national who was planning large-scale terrorist attacks in Germany, including a ramming attack, has been identified and arrested. The vigilance of Moroccan services have thus spared Germany a massacre.

On Tuesday, October 24, with the invaluable and decisive assistance of Moroccan security services, the police in Essen, western Germany, were able to neutralize the dangerous terrorist.

The individual, 29, is a German-Egyptian national named Tarik S.S., who lives in Duisburg. A former fighter in the ranks of the terrorist organization ISIS in Syria and Iraq, this individual had various terrorist plots that he was planning to carry out on German soil. These projects notably included a ramming attack using a truck, according to sources familiar with his case.

Moroccan security and intelligence services, led by Abdellatif Hammouchi, alerted their German counterparts about the identity and profile of the German-Egyptian terrorist throughout the months of September and October 2023, providing them with personal data, photographs, and the suspect’s contact information.

This significant contribution adds to the numerous contributions of the DGST, which have helped thwart terrorist projects beyond national borders and neutralize many supporters of religious extremism and terrorist movements. Once again, the Moroccan services have evidenced that they are a key actor in the international fight against terrorism.

It is to be recalled that the Director-General of DGST, Abdellatif Hammouchi, received the Director of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Thomas Haldenwang, along with his key deputies in this intelligence agency, in Rabat last April.

The two high-ranking officials had agreed to strengthen relations between the security services of the two countries. This proactive action by DGST demonstrates that Morocco keeps its promises.