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Moroccan Authorities Detain 2 Suspects in Cafe Bombing


Moroccan Interior Minister Taieb Cherkaoui speaks during a news conference in Rabat, following last month's deadly cafe bombing in Marrakesh, May 6, 2011
Moroccan Interior Minister Taieb Cherkaoui speaks during a news conference in Rabat, following last month's deadly cafe bombing in Marrakesh, May 6, 2011

Moroccan security sources say authorities have arrested two more suspects in the April 28 bombing of a Marrakech cafe that killed 17 people, mostly foreigners.

Security officials said Tuesday the two suspects were detained in the city of Safi, north of Marrakech. One source told the French news agency (AFP) that the suspects were aware of a terrorist plot against the cafe but were not directly involved in carrying out the bombing.

Moroccan authorities detained three other suspects last week, including a man accused of planting the bomb at the Argana cafe in Jemaa el-Fna square, a popular tourist destination in the heart of Marrakech. They say the device was detonated by remote control. Fourteen of those killed were foreigners, including eight French citizens.

The Moroccan government blames the attack on al-Qaida and says the main suspect is an al-Qaida loyalist who is "well versed in jihadi ideology." The terrorist network's North African wing, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, has denied involvement in the bombing.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP .

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