Report: Al-Qaida rules Morocco prison

RABAT, Morocco, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida is seeking to dominate life in Moroccan prisons by intimidating and even killing fellow inmates, security sources say.

This is especially the case in prisons around Casablanca, where the majority of al-Qaida insurgents have been held, the Med Basin Newsline reported Tuesday, citing the city's Okasha prison, where al-Qaida-aligned inmates were reported to have taken over an entire ward.

Sources told the news agency that opponents there were intimidated or assaulted until they were transferred or accepted al-Qaida's rule, which includes strict adherence to Sharia law. Some who have opposed the Islamic militants -- most of whom were convicted for terrorism offenses -- have been strangled to death, the sources said.

Med Basin Newsline said the al-Qaida inmates have also succeeded in intimidating prison authorities, who have allowed self-appointed investigators to search prison cells for liquor or other contraband that violates Islamic law.