Morocco Breaks up Jihadist Cell

Poverty drives people to misunderstand islam. Teachers, lecturers, police and a journalist don't sound poor to me at all.

But cases have emerged of better-off Moroccans being linked to jihadist cells. Among 50 suspected militants jailed for up to 25 years last month for plotting bombings and robberies were the wives of two pilots at national airline Royal Air Maroc.

RABAT (Reuters) - Teachers, lecturers, a police officer and a journalist were among 32 people arrested by Morocco's security services in an operation to break up a suspected jihadist cell, the government said on Tuesday.

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The suspects were rounded up in the capital Rabat, in Casablanca and other towns across the country in the past two days and security analysts have expressed surprise at the varied background and high profile of some of those held.

The best known are leading Islamist political figures Mustapha Moatassim, Mohammed Amine Ragala and Mohamed Merouani.

Others include company directors, government employees, a hotel manager in the popular tourist destination of Marrakesh and a correspondent for Hezbollah television channel Al Manar, according to a list published by state news agency MAP.

The cell's alleged leader, Abdelkader Belliraj, is a Moroccan living in Belgium. MAP said the group was "very dangerous" and had links with other organizations active in Morocco and abroad.

But cases have emerged of better-off Moroccans being linked to jihadist cells. Among 50 suspected militants jailed for up to 25 years last month for plotting bombings and robberies were the wives of two pilots at national airline Royal Air Maroc.