Morocco shared key intel with Lanka, India

Morocco shared sensitive intelligence with Sri Lanka that helped Colombo identify the nine bombers and their handlers in the Islamic State. The information was also shared with India as New Delhi and Morocco have a strong counter-terror cooperation. This was done within 48 hours of the Easter Sunday attacks that killed nearly 360 people in the island nation.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the horrific bombings, which also killed 10 Indians, with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warning that the Indian Embassy was also a “possible target”. Sri Lankan authorities have talked about “foreign links” of the perpetrators and have said that “foreign agencies” have shared useful information with them.

Morocco, a North African country that follows a moderate strand of Islam, has one of the successful records of counterterrorism and de-radicalization in the Islamic world. More than 3,000 people, including 292 individuals with previous criminal record, have been arrested by Moroccan authorities over the past decade.

India and Morocco have a strong and multi-dimensional agreement on counterterrorism cooperation. During a visit to New Delhi last year. Moroccan Justice Minister Mohamed Auajjar had said in an interview to the Economic Times that “Morocco has a well-established school of counterterrorism, which is globally recognised. We have counter-terror cooperation including bilateral legal arrangements with major countries to fight terror. Given the expansion in ties with India and mutual interest, we decided to sign these treaties with Delhi, taking our counter-terror partnership to the next level”. Morocco has shared important intelligence and counter-terrorism information in the past with “friendly countries” like France, Spain and Belgium and with its growing ties with India there have been 10 ministerial visits in the past year - there is enhanced cooperation on this front between New Delhi and Rabat.