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Spain : A Moroccan teenager victim of a racially-motivated assault

The recent attacks in Catalonia have already shown their perverse effect : after the acts of vandalism against the consulate of Morocco and the mosque of Tarragona, a young man of Moroccan origin was the victim on Friday 18th of August in Puerto de Sagunto (province of Valencia), of a physical and verbal assault, according to the online newspaper Diario Información. A. F., 14, was surfing the Internet on his phone with a friend when an Audi A3 car stopped next to them. «Get out of

Catalonia attacks : Youness Abouyaaqoub identified as the van driver

Interior Advisor Joaquim Forn confirmed on Monday that the driver of the van that killed 14 people in Barcelona, and wounded more than a hundred others, is Younes Abouyaaqoub, according to El Mundo. An international search and arrest warrant has been issued against him, although the Spanish authorities are not yet in a position to say whether he was able to leave Spain. Younes Abouyaaqoub «is no longer only wanted in Catalonia but in all European countries,» said Joaquim Forn.

Catalonia attacks : The Catalan president calls people not to vilify Moroccans

The president of the Catalan government, Carles Puigdemont, called on Sunday not to criminalize the more than 200,000 Moroccans living in the territory after the jihadist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, which left at least 14 dead and 132 wounded, reports kienyke. «In Catalonia there are about 200,000 Moroccans who are part of the normal daily life of this country, who pray, who work, who participate in collective life; and so it is very unfair to try to introduce a community that

Catalonia attacks : In Ripoll, families of the alleged terrorists protest against terrorism

The city of Ripoll hosted a rally against terrorism on Saturday, after the two terrorist attacks that killed 14 people and injured about 100 others. «The gathering was marked by the presences of the parents and relatives of the terrorists killed,» reports the Spanish daily El Pais. Among these parents, the mother of Younes Abouyaaqoub, who is believed to be the driver of the van. «I want him to be detained and I do not want him to be killed like the others,» said Hanno

Attacks in Catalonia: «Biological remains» of three individuals discovered in Alcanar

The Spanish investigators discovered on Friday the «biological remains» of three individuals in the rubble that could belong to a second corpse in the house located in Alcanar (province of Tarragona), reports El Pais on Sunday. The latter alleges that the terrorists allegedly attempted to «make explosives with bottles of butane gas and propane», and cited sources of the fight against terrorism. «This means that at the time of the explosion, at least five people

Catalonia attacks : Abdelbaki Es Satty, the imam of Ripoll is taking part of the investigation

A very discreet person, who made a great effort not to stand out, he is about forty years old and an Imam who is detached from the Muslim community in Ripoll. This is what the Spanish media, including El Pais, said of Abdelbaki Es Satty. The Imam of Ripoll, the hometown of the terrorists who allegedly planned for the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, is taking part of the investigation carried out by the Spanish authorities. According to AFP, «this religious person now appears as one

Barcelona : Muslims protest against terrorism

On Saturday afternoon in Barcelona, hundreds of Muslims organized a rally against terrorism, reports Euronews. Dozens of passers-by spontaneously joined the demonstration, where the crowds repeated that they «will not give in to fear». «We are Muslims, we are not terrorists,» the demonstrators chanted. A slogan taken from the Ramblas of Barcelona, where Thursday a man driving a van has crushed the crowds. «We are also victims of what happened,» says one

USA : A Moroccan national killed by a bullet in Chicago

A Moroccan-French man was shot dead by a bullet in the head last Monday around 2:45 am, near his home in Evanston, a suburb of Chicago, Chicago Tribune reported on Friday. According to the same source of Hamza Hammouis was 25 years old and was born in Paris. He has just married and moved to Chicago less than a month ago to join his wife, Jennifer Hess, a 24-year-old American. «Hamza Hammouis had stepped out with his wife and sister Monday, intending to snap early-morning photos of the

Attacks in Europe : Geert Wilders rejoices over the fact that the suspects are originally from Morocco

The attacks in Spain and Finland where Moroccan nationals are involved is a golden opportunity for xenophobes and islamophobes. Since Thursday evening, their reactions have popped up on social media, with some political leaders zttacking Islam and Muslims in Europe. On his Facebook and Twitter accounts, Geert Wilders did not miss the opportunity to target Moroccans and Islam. Since Thursday he has repeatedly shared a series of posts in which he claims that Europe is at war and that

Russia : 8 people injured in a stabbing attack and ISIS claims responsibility

8 people were injured on Saturday when a man stabbed the crowds in Surgut, a city in Khanty-Mansi autonomous Okrug, Russia, reports Reuters. The man was shot dead by the police while the attack was described a an «attempted murder» by the Russian law enforcement. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility over the stabbing through a statement published on AMAQ news agency. The wounded were hospitalized, two of them are in a critical condition. According to the BBC, Russia's

Italy : Two Moroccan nationals expelled for celebrating terrorist attacks

Two Moroccan nationals and one Syrian citizen were expelled by the Italian authorities for security reasons, said Il Sole 24ore today. One of the returnees is a 38-year-old Moroccan who is detained for misdemeanors has reportedly celebrated the attack that took place in Stockholm on the 7th of April 2017, when a truck was deliberately driven into crowds. The other is a 31-year-old Moroccan who had been arrested on the 4th of July by the Carabinieri of Toronto for stealing a mini-bus and

Finland stabbing : 4 Moroccans are detained following the attack

Four other suspects who are believed to be Moroccans were arrested in Finland after the deadly attack that took place yesterday in down town Turku. The Chinese news agency Xinhua reports today quoting the Finnish police. An arrest warrant has also been issued against a fifth Moroccan suspect. The assailant who's identified has been revealed earlier today, is hospitalized and in a critical condition. The 18-year-old alleged terrorist was shot by the police in the hip after killing two people

Finland : The main suspect of the knife attack is believed to be Moroccan

Yesterday in Turku, Finland, several people were stabbed by a man who was later identified as an 18-year-old Moroccan. After being shot in the leg by the police, the alleged assailant was arrested. An investigation was then opened by the Finnish authorities and five people were arrested, reports LCI quoting the Twitter account of the Finnish police. The alleged perpetrator of the stabbing is believed to be , according to the same source, an 18-year-old Moroccan man. Finland now speaks of a

Catalonia Attacks : The family of Driss and Moussa Oukabir still in shock

On the other side of the Mediterranean, the relatives of Driss Oukabir, arrested by the Spanish authorities, and his brother Moussa, killed in Cambrils during the night from Thursday to Friday by the police, are «shocked». AFP was able to visit the village of Melouiya to interview their father. «We are in shock, completely shattered», with tears in their eyes, their father Said Oukabir, surrounded by family members, neighbors and friends who came to offer their

Catalonia attacks : Three Moroccan suspects killed in Cambrils

The Spanish authorities have identified a cell composed of a dozen people linked to Thursday's attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, the French daily newspaper Le Parisien said on Friday. It informs that at least two of the alleged terrorists died in the explosion of the hideout. Five, including the three previously identified, were reportedly killed in the second attack in the Spanish seaside resort while four people were arrested. While the police is still looking for the last one namely Younes

Catalonia Attacks : The police is looking for 4 Moroccan suspects

Nearly 24 hours after the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, which killed 14 people and injured more than 100 others, the Spanish authorities are currently looking for four young people, aged between 17 and 24 years. This Friday, El Pais quoting an internal police document distributed to the units, says that the four suspects are believed to be Moroccan. However, they are living in Ripoll and Ribes de Freser (Girona). According to the Spanish newspaper, Moussa Oukabir, 17, is the brother of

A British vessel evacuated between Boujdour and Gran Canara after fertiliser cargo catches fire

A crew of a British ship named MV Cheshire and owned by Bibby Line Limited, was rescued by helicopters 45 miles south of Gran Canaria, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, off northwestern Africa, the Dailymail reports. According to a communiqué issued by the company earlier this week, «the vessel is loaded with a full cargo of  ammonium nitrate based fertiliser and is on passage from Norway to Thailand to discharge». According to the same source MV Cheshire

Three Moroccans in custody over Catalonia attacks

Catalan regional police official Josep Lluis Trapero said in a press conference held this early afternoon that the investigation into the attacks in Catalonia is based on «the assumption that the authors were preparing these two attacks for some time in this house in Alcanar,» reports Le Monde. «We work with the hypothesis that the suspects were preparing both attacks for some time in this building of Alcanar. It was a group, we do not know the specific number, but