Suspected Suicide Bomber Kills 14 in Morocco Tourist Cafe
A powerful blast ripped through a cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh Thursday, killing 11 foreigners and three Moroccans in what authorities suspect was the work of a suicide bomber.
"According to the information I have, it could have been perpetrated by a suicide bomber," an official in the regional governor's office told Agence France Presse.
"We found nails in one of the bodies," added the official, who was in a hospital where some of the bodies were taken.
And an interior ministry official said that indications pointed to a terror attack on the Argana cafe in the main square of Marrakesh, a favorite haunt of foreign tourists.
But there were contradictory reports on exactly how the blast occurred.
One witness who was inside the cafe but escaped unscathed said: "An individual entered, ordered an orange juice and a few minutes later blew himself up."
But another witness, quoted by several Moroccan radio stations, said the bomber dropped a suitcase and immediately walked out of the cafe.
Latifa Idrissi, whose husband Yassine Bouzidi, 28, was one of the victims, said the blast occurred on the cafe's terrace and badly injured the manager.
A medical source speaking on condition of anonymity said five women are among the 11 dead foreigners.
"We cannot at this stage determine the exact identity of all the victims," the source added.
Earlier another official said that, in addition to the 14 fatalities, 20 people were injured in the midday blast which he described as "criminal" in nature.
Authorities said an investigation was underway to shed more light on the explosion which occurred on Djemaa el Fna square in the central Moroccan city.
The French embassy in Morocco meanwhile said it did not know whether French nationals were among the casualties but added that it was in touch with Moroccan authorities to find out.
Thursday's Marrakesh blast came eight years after the May 16, 2003 terror attacks that killed 45 people, including 12 suicide bombers, in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city.
Last January, Moroccan Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui said 27 suspected terrorists recently arrested in the country's south had ties to Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), an al-Qaida-linked regional offshoot.
He said four of the suspects were arrested near the Algerian-Moroccan border.
According to experts, AQIM bases are spread across Algeria, Mauritania and Mali.
Cherkaoui then said the network had planned bank robberies in Casablanca and Rabat "to finance its terrorist actions."
And his ministry said the network was led by "a Moroccan national who is a member of AQIM and who wanted to create a rear base in the country for terror attacks."
Source: Agence France Presse
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