Brother of a Bataclan terrorist to be extradited to Morocco

Two weeks after losing his French citizenship, Moroccan national Karim Mohamed-Aggad was arrested by the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) in Alsace, northeastern France, at the beginning of December. Brother of Foued, one of the terrorists behind the Bataclan terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015, the man will be expelled to Morocco «as quickly as possible», French media reported.

Karim Mohamed-Aggad was arrested at his home in Wissembourg, north of Bas-Rhin near the German border, according to Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace (DNA). The operation «is part of the fight against radicalization and the expulsion of people who put the security of our country in jeopardy, as requested by the Minister [of Interior Gérald Darmanin]», added the prefect of Bas-Rhin Josiane Chevalier.

The individual was placed at the Administrative Detention Center (CRA) in Metz, pending his expulsion. Born in July 1990 in Wissembourg, Karim was sentenced in 2016 to nine years in prison for criminal conspiracy in connection with a terrorist group. Between December 2013 and April 2014, he joined the ranks of Daesh in Syria with his brother. According to DNA, he holds both Algerian and Moroccan citizenships.

Since his release, the national has been subject to a measure of control and surveillance, applied to those sentenced to more than 5 years in terrorism-related cases. In October 2022, he was sentenced to six months in prison for violating his travel restriction order and leaving his commune, Wissembourg, without prior special authorization.