EU buildings target of foiled terror plot
PHILIPPA RUNNER
20.05.2008 @ 09:23 CET
European Union buildings and the Sheraton Hotel in the EU's capital, Brussels, were among the targets of an Islamist terrorist cell broken up in Morocco, Belgian media say.
Belgian TV channel VRT and national daily Le Soir voiced the claims late on Monday (19 May) following reports by Moroccan news agency, MAP, that 11 suspects had been arrested in the towns of Fez and Nador.
A European Commission building in Brussels (Photo: Wikipedia.org)
One of the 11 was a Moroccan who lives in Belgium, with the group planning attacks in both North Africa and the European country but with details "too sensitive" to discuss, Moroccan officials said.
The group is also accused of training fighters for Al-Qaeda in Algeria and for the insurgency in Iraq.
Belgian authorities allegedly learned of the plot from media and told the AP they have no further information but have contacted security counterparts in Rabat.
Over 200,000 people of Moroccan descent currently live in Belgium, forming the 10.5 million-strong country's largest migrant group.
In February, Moroccan police arrested 35 suspected terrorists led by Abdelkader Belliraj, a Moroccan citizen living in Belgium.