Soleiman El Amrani, Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Reconnaissance Committee on the Moroccans of Iraq and Syria, revealed today, at a press seminar held at the House of Representatives, that of the 345 Moroccan combatants who returned to Morocco from the hotbeds of fighting in Syria and Iraq, 245 come from three sides in the Kingdom, namely Tangier-Tetouan-Hoceima, Fez-Meknes, and Casablanca – Settat. He said: “This shows that a large number of people have joined the hotbeds from the cities of the north, the centre.

Concerning the remaining files, Al Amrani stated that the security officer was steadfast in resolving their return, in addition to the social, health, and psychological dimensions.

According to Al Amrani, the Committee’s reconnaissance mission was “difficult,” as the Committee dealt with a file of interest to other States in which the security aspect was brought in: “We did not know where we were going to end up, but we have the right to say that we have started the first step in the way of resolving the file,” referring, in particular, to the Committee’s recommendation to create a national institution, in which all those involved, with the participation of the security institution, would be involved to study the file on a case-by-case basis. In addition to a recommendation that concerns the legal and legislative aspects.

Based on the current report of the Commission of Inquiry, between 2012 and2017, 1659 Moroccans left the country to avoid jihad or for financial reasons, with 1,300 joining ISIS.

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Former Islamist terrorism-related detainee, Bouchta Charef, released a new video in which he revealed new facts about former detainee Jihadist Mohammed Hajeb, who has fled to Germany, indicating that Hajeb had ties to al-Qaeda where he had undergone training before entering Zaki prison in Salé.

Charef stated in the video he posted on his Facebook page, “I took this video to discredit to Hajeb’s fabrications; whenever he tells a lie, I will film a video to reveal his allegations to the Moroccan people”, calling on him to refrain from lying and desist from repudiating Islamic groups which he enjoys special relations with.

The former detainee addressed Hajeb saying: “Enough repudiating Islamic groups. You repudiated the Taliban, and you repudiated al-Qaeda that trained you. In prison, you used to say that you wanted to go to Chechnya. When I came to prison, I noticed that, although young, you were acting like leader Sheikhs; you knew how to teach others, you knew how to negotiate with the administration and when to go on a hunger strike, and this is how I knew that you had been previously trained in al-Qaeda camps.”

Charef promised Hajeb to reveal the truth behind my video in which he claimed he was tortured, and “the truth of my video, which you fabricated and filmed me,” highlighting in a different context that Hajeb considered Ousama Ben Laden an idol and was infatuated by him.

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