RABAT, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's Interior Ministry said on Thursday that the country's security forces had thwarted a planned bomb attack carried by a recently dismantled terror cell.
On Sunday, Moroccan security services announced the arrest of 11 people with suspected links to the Islamic State group and the seizure of chemical materials used for making bombs in the northern city of Fez.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the forces had seized in the cell's house and in a car "liquids and chemical powders that are used in the manufacturing of explosives that the cell's members intended to use to carry out terrorist plots in the kingdom."
"Some of these chemicals are used to speed up the explosion process and increase its magnitude and that the fire extinguishers seized are filled with explosive chemicals, nails and small pieces of iron in order to cause casualties and damage," the source added.
The ministry noted that the forces also seized weapons, a large amount of ammunition, telecommunications devices and two waistcoats intended to be used to make explosive belts.
According to Moroccan authorities, security services have busted around 50 terrorist cells, over 40 of which were linked to the IS group, since 2015.
