Marrakesh or Marrakech is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.
The 2003 Casablanca bombings, commonly known as May 16, were a series of coordinated suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. Twelve suicide bombers loyal to the Salafia Jihadia organization detonated bombs hidden in backpacks in the Casa de España restaurant, the Hotel Farah, the Jewish Alliance of Casablanca, and sites near the Belgian consulate and an old Jewish cemetery. The attacks, which were later claimed by al-Qaeda, were the deadliest terrorist attacks in Morocco's history, claiming the lives of forty-five people and injuring at least 100. Despite deliberately targeting Jews, none of the victims were Jews as the attack occurred during Shabbat.
The 2004 Madrid train bombings were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days before Spain's general elections. The explosions killed 193 people and injured around 2,050. The bombings constituted the deadliest terrorist attack carried out in the history of Spain and the deadliest in Europe since 1988. The attacks were carried out by individuals who opposed Spanish involvement in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, known by the French acronym GICM, was a Sunni Islamist militant organization that operated in Morocco, North Africa, and Western Europe. The organization's objective was to establish an Islamic government in Morocco.
Jemaa el-Fnaa is a square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter. It remains the main square of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists.
Saadeddine Othmani, sometimes translated as Saad Eddine el-Othmani, is a Moroccan politician. He served as the 16th Prime Minister of Morocco from 17 March 2017 to 7 October 2021. Previously he served as foreign minister from 2012 to 2013.
Salafia Jihadia is a Salafi Jihadist militant group based in Morocco and Spain. The group was allied with al-Qaeda and Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM).
The controversy regarding the handling and representation of the Madrid train bombings by the government arose with Spain's two main political parties, Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Partido Popular (PP), accusing each other of concealing or distorting evidence for electoral reasons.
An Islamist insurgency is taking place in the Maghreb region of North Africa, followed on from the end of the Algerian Civil War in 2002. The Algerian militant group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) allied itself with al-Qaeda to eventually become al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The Algerian and other Maghreb governments fighting the militants have worked with the United States and the United Kingdom since 2007, when Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara began.
The 2008 Danish embassy bombing was an attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan on 2 June 2008. The suspected suicide car bombing in the parking lot of the embassy took place at around 12:10 pm (UTC+5), killing at least six and wounding many more. The Danish national security intelligence agency PET concluded that al-Qaeda was behind the attack. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack on 5 June 2008. The attack was confirmed to be an answer to the reprinting of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten's Muhammed cartoons in February 2006, as well as the presence of Danish troops in Afghanistan.
Karim Thami el-Mejjati was a Moroccan-French convicted terrorist who has been claimed to have aided the Riyadh compound bombings, the 2003 Casablanca bombings, the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the 2005 London bombings as member of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.
A pressure cooker bomb is an improvised explosive device (IED) created by inserting explosive material into a pressure cooker and attaching a blasting cap into the cover of the cooker.
Terrorism in France refers to the terrorist attacks that have targeted the country and its population during the 20th and 21st centuries. Terrorism, in this case is much related to the country's history, international affairs and political approach. Legislation has been set up by lawmakers to fight terrorism in France.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Marrakesh, Morocco.
Salah Abdeslam is a Belgian-born Islamic terrorist who was sentenced to life in prison in France in 2022 as the only surviving member of the 10-man unit that carried out the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015, in which 130 people were killed and more than 490 injured.
The Brussels Islamic State terror cell was a group involved in large-scale terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 and Brussels in March 2016. The terror cell was connected to the Islamic State (IS), a jihadist terrorist organisation primarily based in Syria and Iraq.
Fatiha Mohamed Taher Mejjati is a Moroccan jihadist. She is the widow of Karim Mejjati, co-founder of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group and member of Al-Qaeda. Karim Mejjati is suspected of planning the 2003 Casablanca bombings and the 2004 Madrid train bombings.
Many bombings were committed during the Algerian Civil War that began in 1991. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) claimed responsibility for many of them, while for others no group has claimed responsibility. These terrorist incidents generated a widespread sense of fear in Algeria. The number of bombings peaked in 2007, with a smaller peak in 2002, and they were particularly concentrated in the areas between Algiers and Tizi Ouzou, with very few occurring in the east or in the Sahara.
Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi is a Moroccan-born terrorist and senior member of Al-Qaeda (AQ) who leads the organization's External Communications Office, including As-Sahab Media. He is the son-in-law of the group's late emir Ayman al-Zawahiri, and is seen as a potential successor to Saif al-Adel as leader of the terror group. Though primarily known by a nom de guerre which references his Moroccan birthplace in the Maghreb, his given name is Mohamed Abattay. After his radicalization in the late 1990s, al-Maghrebi abandoned his schooling in Germany and departed for the infamous Al Farouq training camp outside Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was hand-picked by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for work in the groups propaganda arm. Following the September 11 attacks, al-Maghrebi is believed to have quickly fled to Iran. He subsequently rose through the ranks of Al-Qaeda, gaining trust, and winning the hand of Zawahiri's daughter in marriage. By 2012, al-Maghrebi had become al-Qaeda's general manager for all of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US moved to designate al-Maghrebi a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in early 2021. After the Taliban's return to power in August of that year, al-Maghrebi was believed to have been living together with Zawahiri in the same house in downtown Kabul where Zawahiri would later be killed in a U.S. drone strike. As of 2023 his whereabouts are unknown.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (alleged, denied involvement)
