Speaking at a press briefing organized by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), Sabik noted that any operation, conducted on the basis of available information and in coordination with the BCIJ and the special forces, adheres to a strict protocol intended to abort and neutralize any terrorist threat and to protect citizens and their property, as well as police officers and those responsible for this mission.
No casualties were recorded among the intervention forces during all the operations where the security protocol was applied, he assured, noting that if necessary, the level of this protocol will be raised, fully implemented and with all the required rigor.
Regarding the latest security operation dismantling a terrorist cell in Had Soualem, the official noted that there were major challenges in terms of, in particular, the presence of explosives that the terrorists tested according to information provided on this subject, hence the need to use police canines specialized in the detection of explosive devices.
He recalled that the intervention operation was carried out with the help of snipers who were on board a helicopter and on the roofs, so as to anticipate any reaction from the suspects who had already pledged allegiance to “Daesh” and were ready to kill themselves and do anything to achieve their objective.
In this regard, Sabik noted that the decision to choose specialized teams to carry out this operation was made following the available data and taking into account the degree of danger and the venue of intervention.
He stressed that the members of the terrorist cell chose the Had Soualem region because their places of residence are there, adding in this regard that some terrorist cells resort to rural areas instead of the urban area, convinced that they would escape the vigilance of the security services.
These elements were at advanced stages in the concrete execution of their terrorist attack through, in particular, the visit of the targeted sites, he said, noting that reliable data showed that they took images of all the sites and identified the departure routes and prepared approximate diagrams of the locations of their position and escape routes.
Regarding the adoption by terrorists of the “lone wolf” theory, Sabik considered that this observation comes after the tightening of security measures on terrorist organizations, which have become more likely to carry out individual attacks with the means available, such as vehicle-ramming attacks, killings and mutilation of corpses.
He affirmed that Daesh has invested in new hotbeds and areas of tension, particularly in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the West of the continent, following the debacle it suffered in its traditional strongholds in Iraq and Syria, noting that the thinking of this terrorist organization, which is still present and which constitutes a threat to all countries in the world, is based mainly on its cybernetic presence.
Sabik also said that skeptical propaganda campaigns regarding anti-terrorist security operations represent a threat to security when they are “heavy and intense”, since they attempt to force security services to turn inward, so that terrorist organizations can continue to terrorize innocent people and carry out their operations, which is “multiple-purpose objectives”.
National security services are working to combat such propaganda, in particular by communicating with the media and providing precise data on security operations and presenting seized objects to reaffirm that the terrorist threat is still present and imminent.
He highlighted, in this regard, the role played by the media in reassuring and enlightening public opinion, recalling that the security institutions in Morocco have officers in charge of communicating with all media to respond to these propaganda campaigns targeting citizens and their security.
The official added that “the security services are currently working to adapt action plans to future security challenges, particularly with regard to continental and international sporting events that our country will host in the near future”, adding that winning the security challenge will be the major pillar guaranteeing the success of these events and the establishment of a secure environment for sports events.
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