Morocco: Government Says Al Qaeda Behind Cafe Attack

Morocco’s Minister of Communications Khalid Naciri on Friday hinted to the possibility that al Qaeda is linked to the bombing, which targeted a cafe in the city of Marrakech on Thursday and led to the death of 16 people.

Naciri, who is also the spokesman for the Moroccan government, said in an interview with French radio station “Europe 1″: ” Logically, we think they are linked to this type of terrorist attack and murder.”

However, he pointed out that the investigation had not reached a conclusive evidence to link al-Qaeda to the attack, noting that “we are working on the basis of this theory, but we can not present charges as long as we can’t confirm that.”

The bombing, which targeted a cafe in Marrakech Thursday led to the killing of 16 people, including foreigners, and the injuring of about 20 others. The Moroccan Interior Minister Taieb El Sharkawy said preliminary investigations indicate that this was a “terrorist act” caused by an explosive device.

Security experts said the attack was consistent with previous attempts by Islamist militants to undermine the regime in Morocco, targeting the tourism industry. The blast is likely to affect the performance of the tourism industry, which represents a major source of foreign exchange revenues for Morocco.