Casablanca, Morocco – Two brothers strapped with explosives blew themselves up near the U.S. consulate Saturday and Moroccan officials said they had discovered a broader suicide bombing conspiracy, stoking new fears of increased terrorism in this American- allied kingdom.
Aside from the bombers killed, one woman was injured, authorities said.
Police arrested three people – one wearing an explosives belt – near the scene of the attack in an upscale neighborhood dotted with high-rises and diplomatic missions, an Interior Ministry official said.
Investigators found a second, undetonated explosives belt nearby, next to the four-star El Kandara Hotel, the official said on condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy.
Both the unexploded belts appeared to match the remnants of belts worn by three men who blew themselves up Tuesday after fleeing a police raid on their hideout, the official said.
Recent blasts have shattered a calm in place since an unprecedented crackdown brought the detention of thousands of suspected Islamic extremists, who were arrested after five suicide bombings in May 2003 killed dozens of people.
“These networks want to send a message that they still have the initiative to carry out attacks and they can choose the place,” said Mohamed Darif, an expert on Islamic extremism.
In neighboring Algeria, the U.S. Embassy warned of possible new attacks in that nation’s capital, Algiers, saying the central post office and national television headquarters were potential targets.
A group calling itself al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks Wednesday on the Algerian prime minister’s office and a police station that killed 33 people and wounded 200.
