The authorities in Morocco said on Thursday that three more suspects had been arrested in the killings of two Scandinavian tourists in the Atlas Mountains, in what Danish officials said might be an act of terror linked to the Islamic State.
The Central Office of Judicial Research in Morocco said in a statement that the three suspects had been detained in Marrakesh. Another man, who was arrested on Tuesday, is suspected of having extremist affiliations, The Associated Press reported Moroccan prosecutors as saying.
The victims have been identified as Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, of Denmark and Maren Ueland, 28, of Norway.
The authorities said their bodies were found on Monday by other tourists in an isolated area of the High Atlas Mountains, an area popular with hikers, six miles from the village of Imlil. It is often the starting point for treks to Mount Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak.
The killings can be considered “politically motivated, and thus an act of terror,” Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen of Denmark said on Thursday. He added that “there are still dark forces that want to fight our values” and that “we must not give in,” according to The A.P.
“What should have been a holiday trip turned into a nightmare,” Mr. Rasmussen told reporters in Denmark.
A video posted on social media purports to show one of the victims screaming while a man cut her neck with a knife, but preliminary investigations found that it had been shot in a different place from where the bodies were found, Reuters reported.
Denmark’s domestic security agency 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.” It added, “This is a case of an unusually bestial killing of two totally innocent young women.”
Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway called the slayings “a brutal and meaningless attack on innocent people,” adding that the case “emphasizes the importance of combating violent extremism.”
The killings have shocked Morocco, a popular tourist destination where attacks on foreigners are extremely rare. But the country has battled Islamic extremism for years, and thousands of Moroccans have joined the Islamic State group, according to The A.P.
One victim’s mother, Irene Ueland, told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK that her daughter had taken safety precautions before the trip.
Before leaving, Ms. Jespersen posted on Facebook about her coming trip: “Dear friends, I’m going to Morocco in December. Any of you guys who’s around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?”
According to Moroccan media outlets, investigators recovered surveillance footage showing three suspects putting up a tent near the victims’ tent and leaving the area after their deaths.
Source : Nytimes
