Morocco to launch probe into videotape showing murders of 2 foreign tourists

RABAT - The public prosecutor at the Rabat Appeal Court said on Thursday that an investigation will be launched into a videotape showing alleged murders of two foreign tourists in central Morocco by four suspects.

The bodies of the two female tourists, a Dane and a Norwegian, were found on Monday near the mountainous tourist village of Imlil, 60 km away from the city of Marrakech.

In the videotape shared on social media, the four suspects pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Islamic State (IS) militant group, and vowed to conduct terror acts.

According to the public prosecutor, the video was recorded a week before the crime.

Three of the suspects were arrested on Thursday morning, with the first a few hours after the crime.

Since 2011, Morocco has been insulated from terror attacks plaguing other countries in North Africa.

The last terrorist attack in Morocco dates back to April 2011, when a suspected suicide bomber blew apart a famous tourist cafe in Marrakech, killing 17 and wounding dozens of others.