The Moroccan Interior Ministry yesterday revealed information about the existence of a “terrorist cell” that had been preparing biological attacks and was uncovered two weeks ago.

The sources said that “the materials that were seized were lethal biological substances and members of the cell had planned to use these substances to carry out their terrorist plots”. The sources added that “the confiscated materials are capable of destroying the nervous system of humans and cause environmental damage”. According to an Interior Ministry statement yesterday, “the cell whose members were arrested in Al-Jadida on the 18th of February was made up of ten individuals including a French citizen. In addition to this, the materials were proved to contain lethal, toxic and biological substances”.

The statement indicated that these materials are classified by international health organisations as dangerous biological weapons due to the fact that a small amount of them can paralyse and destroy the human nervous system and cause death. It also highlighted that these toxins “will expose the environmental area to risk in the event that these materials are leaked through water and air”. The same source added that the investigation of members of this terrorist network confirmed that they had prepared these deadly materials for use as part of their terrorist plan in Morocco which shows the evolution of approaches and methods of committing crime.