Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group

The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, known by the French acronym GICM (Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain), is a Salafi jihadist organisation affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The GICM is one of several North African franchises spawned in Afghanistan during the tenure of the Taliban. The organisation and its associated members have been linked to major attacks including the 2003 Casablanca bombings that killed 33 people and wounded more than 100, and the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded over 2,000. A crackdown against the organisation's numerous cells in Europe is thought to have since significantly damaged the GICM's capabilities.[1]

Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
Participant in the Global War on Terrorism
Active1990s–present
IdeologySalafi jihadism
Area of operationsMorocco, Algeria, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Spain, Western Europe, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Canada, Brazil
Allies
Opponent(s)

History

Background

The GICM was founded in the 1990s by Moroccan recruits from al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and former Mujahideen veterans from the Soviet–Afghan War.[1][2][5] Formed as a splinter group of the Harakat al-Islamiya al-Maghrebiya al-Mukatila (HASM) and Shabiba al-Islamiya groups, the GICM's stated goal was to establish an Islamic state in Morocco.[1][4] The group gained its finances from criminal activities such as robberies, extortions, document forgery, illegal drug trade and arms trafficking through North Africa and Europe.[1][4][6][7] One early cell affiliated with the group was responsible for killing two Spanish tourists at the Atlas Asni Hotel in Marrakesh in August 1994.[6] The ideological leader of the group was Ahmed Rafiki (a.k.a. Abou Hodeifa), who was responsible for organising Moroccan fighters in Afghanistan.[2]

Attacks linked to GICM

Along with other Al-Qaeda affiliates, GICM was banned worldwide by the UN 1267 Committee in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001.[2] The group was later linked to several attacks. In 2003 twelve suicide bombers from the associated group Salafia Jihadia were responsible for coordinated suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 33 people.[1][2][8] At least eight of the people convicted after the bombings were accused of being members of the GICM.[9] Nourredine Nafia, an important early leader of the group was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Saad Houssaini, the group's suspected military committee chief (arrested in 2007) was sentenced to 15 years.[6][10]

A year after the Casablanca bombings, the GICM became the principal suspect after the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded over 2,000.[2][11][12] A cell linked to the attacks was affiliated with the GICM through Youssef Belhadj and Hassan el-Haski, who were based in Belgium.[3][13][14][15][16] A main perpetrator, Jamal Zougam had met GICM leaders including Mohammed al-Guerbouzi (a.k.a. Abou Issa) in the United Kingdom, and Abdelaziz Benyaich in Morocco.[7][17]

The group has also been linked to the 2007 Casablanca bombings.[4] Also active with recruiting jihadist fighters to Iraq, the GICM has been responsible for attacks including at least one suicide bombing against the Multi-National Force – Iraq.[1][2]

Activities and cells

A large part of the GICM's membership was drawn from the Moroccan diaspora in Western Europe, where it was involved in a number of terrorist plots.[2][6] The organisation in Europe is based in the United Kingdom, but has had numerous cells, including sleeper cells in Spain, Belgium, Italy, France, Denmark, Turkey, Egypt and the Netherlands.[1][2][4]

The European organisation is thought to have been led by British national Mohammed al-Guerbouzi, who in 2001 was arrested by Iranian authorities and extradited to the United Kingdom, and later sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison in Morocco for his role in the 2003 Casablanca bombings.[1][2][6][18] A Belgian cell led by Abdelkader Hakimi, Lahoussine el-Haski, Mostafa Louanani, and eight other men were convicted in 2006.[6][19] Members of the GICM have also been arrested in Spain and France.[6] Four members were arrested in the Canary Islands in December 2004, suspected of preparing to establish a new base for the group.[9] The Catalonia-based Rabet and Nakcha groups, which recruited suicide bombers to Iraq were dismantled in 2005 and 2006.[6] In Paris, thirteen people suspected of links to the GICM were arrested in 2004.[20] The imam of a mosque in Varese, Italy suspected of raising money and recruiting for the GICM was extradited to Morocco in 2008.[21] According to the Federal Police of Brazil, GICM is one of seven Islamic terrorist groups active in the country, and in the border area with Argentina and Paraguay.[22] The group has also operated in Canada.[23][24]

By 2010 most of the organisation's leadership had reportedly been imprisoned or killed, although former cells and members at large were still considered a threat.[1] Although not officially confirmed,[1][6] according to some sources the group has joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).[4][25] A cell with 27 members in Tétouan arrested in January 2007 had logistical and financial links to GICM and AQIM.[6] Mohamed Moumou (aka Abu Qaswarah), second-in-command of Al-Qaida in Iraq was originally a key member of the GICM.[6] Karim el-Mejjati, another founding leader of the group was killed in 2005 after having become a leader of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia.[1][6]

Foreign relations

Designation as a terrorist organisation

Countries and organisations below have officially listed the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group as a terrorist organisation.

Country Date References
 United Nations 10 October 2002 [2]
 United States 5 December 2002 [1]
 United Kingdom 14 October 2005 [26]
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References
  1. "Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group". Stanford University. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  2. "QDe.089 MOROCCAN ISLAMIC COMBATANT GROUP". United Nations Security Council (UNSC). 14 December 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  3. Reinares, Fernando (22 March 2012). "The Evidence of Al-Qa`ida's Role in the 2004 Madrid Attack". Combatting Terrorism Center.
  4. Guidère, Mathieu (2012). Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalism. Scarecrow Press. p. 230. ISBN 9780810879652.
  5. Tan, Andrew T .H. (2010). Politics of Terrorism: A Survey. Routledge. p. 183. ISBN 9781136833366.
  6. Echeverría Jesús, Carlos (15 March 2009). "The Current State of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group". Combating Terrorism Center.
  7. Chalk, Peter (2012). Encyclopedia of Terrorism. 1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 261–262. ISBN 9780313308956.
  8. M. Bruguière est cité comme témoin devant un tribunal, Le Monde, 1st of June, 2007 (in French)
  9. Ward, Blake D. (2005). Osama's Wake: The Second Generation of Al Qaeda. DIANE Publishing. pp. 24–27. ISBN 9781428994362.
  10. "Morocco arrests Islamist suspected of bombings". Reuters. 9 March 2007.
  11. "Investigators Explore Link to Madrid Attacks". The Washington Post. 9 July 2005.
  12. "Spain Train Bombings Fast Facts". CNN. 4 March 2016.
  13. Reinares, Fernando (3 November 2009). "Jihadist Radicalization and the 2004 Madrid Bombing Network". Combatting Terrorism Center.
  14. "Madrid suspects 'planned' attack in Belgium". Expatica News. 12 April 2006.
  15. "Madrid bombings: the defendants". The Guardian. 31 October 2007.
  16. Van Vlierden, Guy (16 January 2015). "Belgium's jihadist networks". BBC News.
  17. Botha, Anneli (June 2008). "Terrorism in the Maghreb: The Transnationalisation of Domestic Terrorism: Chapter 5: North African Involvement in Transnational Terror Networks". Institute for Security Studies.
  18. "Alive and Well and Living in London". The Weekly Standard. 7 May 2007.
  19. "Men guilty in Belgium terror case". BBC News. 16 February 2006.
  20. "Analysis: Islamist terror in Spain to stay". United Press International. 5 April 2004.
  21. "Italy: Cleric to Face Bombing Charges in Morocco". Reuters. 21 August 2008.
  22. "Terrorism in Brazil". The Brazil Business. 12 December 2013.
  23. "Bomb group supports al-Qaeda". News24. 20 April 2004.
  24. Mili, Hayder. "Securing the Northern Front: Canada and the War on Terror". Terrorism Monitor. The Jamestown Foundation. 3 (14).
  25. Wright-Neville, David (2010). Dictionary of Terrorism. Polity. p. 144. ISBN 9780745643021.
  26. "Terrorism Act 2000". Schedule 2, Act No. 11 of 2000.
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