RABAT, Morocco, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A group led by a member of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb planned to carry out attacks in Morocco and overseas, Moroccan officials said Wednesday.
Interior Minister Tayeb Cherkaoui told reporters at a news conference 27 people had been arrested, The New York Times reported. Security forces seized 30 Kalashnikovs, two grenade launchers and other weapons and maps of areas along the Algerian-Moroccan border.
The weapons were seized at sites around Amgala, a disputed territory on the Atlantic Ocean. Morocco has continued to govern the region although it agreed in a 1991 truce with the separatist Polisario Front to a referendum on independence.
Cherkaoui said the cell apparently planned to carry out attacks on Moroccan and foreign security agencies and to raise money with robberies in Rabat and Casablanca. The alleged leader was described as a member of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
