Click to see the full-size image
UPDATE: Moroccan police said that 9 more suspects had been arrested over the murder of the European hikers.
***
On December 17th, the bodies of two Scandinavian tourists were discovered in the High Atlas Mountains in an isolated area near Imlil, on the way to Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak and a popular hiking destination.
Click to see the full-size image
The two women, who were training to be tourist guides, 24-year-old Louisa Vesterager from Denmark and Maren Ueland, a 28-year-old Norwegian, were knifed and decapitated while on a hiking tour in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
Posted by Maren Ueland on Monday, January 25, 2016
Maren Ueland, 28-year-old Norwegian, training to be a tourist guide
24-year-old Louisa Vesterager, also training to be a tourist guide
Following the discovery of the bodies a graphic video (Discretion is advised, scroll down far to find the video) was released showing a blonde woman being beheaded. In it, the suspected ISIS terrorists claimed that the Scandinavian women are the “enemies of God.”
The video showing the killing of one of the women was confirmed as authentic by Danish intelligence service PET and by Moroccan authorities on December 20th.
“The PET (intelligence service) confirms that a video circulating on the internet shows the murder of one of the two women killed in Morocco,” the authorities said in a statement. “The video and preliminary investigation according to the Moroccan authorities indicate that the killings may be related to the terrorist organization Islamic State.”
AFP reported that Moroccan authorities also worked on verifying the authenticity of the vide, while also analyzing a video posted on Twitter on December 20th, showing four men, said to be the arrested suspects, pledge allegiance to ISIS.
Men in the gruesome clip can be heard shouting ‘it’s Allah’s will’ while there are claims that the words ‘this is for Syria’ were used, in an apparent reference to Western bombing missions in the war-torn country. Thus, PET reportedly claimed that the killing can be connected to ISIS
All four suspects have been arrested as of December 21st.
The first suspect in the murder was arrested on the same day, by local police. He was suspected of belonging to an Islamic extremist group.
“The police found his ID card near the crime scene. He was also likely to have been caught on a camcorder in the mountain village of Imlil, which serves as a base camp for climbers bound for Toubkal. During the interrogation, the man reportedly pointed out three fellow culprits,” Sputnik reported.
On December 20th, AFP reported that three more suspects were arrested for the murder of the two women.
Government spokesman Mustapha Khalfi described the killings as a “criminal and terrorist act,” while Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani called them a “stab in the back of Morocco and Moroccans.”
“The suspects have been arrested” and investigators were in the process of “verifying the terrorist motive, which is supported by the evidence and the findings of inquiries,” said the central judicial investigations office.
“The radical Islamist line has not been removed, because of the profile of the (first) suspect arrested and the three” others, who have links to radical Islamic circles, an unnamed source close to the investigation was cited by AFP.
Investigators have released pictures of the three fugitives, who were identified as Rachid Afatti, Ouaziad Younes and Ejjoud Abdessamad.
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
All three of them are from Marrakesh, and one of them had “a court record linked to terrorist acts,” police spokesman Boubker Sabik said.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen denounced what he called a “beastly crime.”
Addressing reporters, Rasmussen said “like the whole world, we react with consternation, disgust and a profound sadness.”
Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg condemned what she called a “brutal and meaningless attack on innocents.”
In Rabat, the government spokesman highlighted the efforts of the security services in the fight against terrorism by hailing the arrest in “record time” of the alleged suspects in the double murder.
Both Moroccan and Danish authorities stressed that the crimes are politically motivated and should be investigated as acts of terror.
Capital punishment, or as colloquially known the death penalty is still a valid punishment in Morocco, however no such verdict has been given since 1993. The investigation is still on-going and it is yet to be determined if the men are, in fact, the culprits.
Muslims again. What a surprise. Fucking Islam pigs.
It’s a shame what was done to them by the US/Israeli created/armed/funded/trained/chauffeured terrorist organization known as ISIS, but liberal ideology taught in every western country also contributed greatly towards their demise, lulling them into a false sense of security while travelling in foreign countries with vastly different cultures and customs. Even though Morocco would rightly be considered one of the more safer muslim countries, it’s also a large immigration hub into Europe that attracts many terrorist elements looking to profiteer from those seeking passage as well as to commit terrorist acts against “the infidel” at every opportunity presented. Unfortunately, they won’t be the last victims of Salafist Wahhabi headchoppers.
This is all very sad, however it was very silly for these two young women to travel alone in a barren part of a country where thugs, thieves and religious zealots are at large. I would not even wish to go hiking and camping there with a platoon of soldiers.
The two women have paid the price for their disregard of current world events.
I do not condone what was inflicted on the two women in any way but walking into a vipers pit is crazy.
Come on – the id card found on the scene, that’s a repeating tool, from 9/11 till Anis Amri – that makes my fake hairs in the back of my neck stand up. After having seen the video before it was taken down – I can’t say that I identified one of those two girls. Yes it’s horrific – but the lost id – card at the place of the crime – no that’s too much…
You have a point. What do you think the purpose was , that being the case ?
The same purpose as the migration, or use of the mass migration weapon – to initiate Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order’ – in short to create war.
Although it could be false flag – it might very well be authentic killing of innocent tourists. Either way – the outcome would be a radicalisation of Scandinavians – with a view for war/revenge.
It is said that one of them posted a liberal anti-islamophobic video on twitter before https://twitter.com/AmyMek/status/1076221983535366145/video/1