Casablanca bomb suspect dies in custody
A man suspected of masterminding the suicide bombing attacks in Casablanca that killed 31 people has died in custody, Moroccan judicial officials said today.
The man, who was captured in Fez on Monday, was identified as Abdelhak or Moul Sebbat, which means shoe-seller, said Alaoui Belghiti, the prosecutor general of the appeals court of Casablanca.
The suspect suffered from heart disease and died while he was being transferred to a hospital, Belghiti said.
Officials have released no other details about him and did not say whether he had links to foreign terror groups suspected of involvement in the attack.
“His health unfortunately did not allow investigators to finish all the elements of the probe,” Belghiti said
The May 16 blasts, which targeted a Spanish restaurant, a Jewish social club and cemetery, a hotel and damaged the Belgian consulate, also killed 12 bombers.
Last week, three people who had been in contact with the bombers were arrested.
The bombers were all Moroccans but authorities believe the attacks were the work of an international network.
Investigators are focusing on whether the attackers were linked to Muslim extremist groups like the clandestine Salafia Jihadia, a homegrown group suspected of possible ties to the al-Qaida terror network of Osama bin Laden.
