Below Mount Toubkal, reportedly they had been beheaded.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...cos-high-atlas

Sadden by this, thoughts are with the families.



Morocco, and the world doesn't need it, just fuels hatred of muslims and keeps tourists away.

Very sad news.

But a lot of very conflicting information in the media at present. Apparently a suspect has been arrested this morning. It'll be a while before the full facts are out.

That's why they do it. No contact from westerners and no income from tourism fuel isolation and poverty, the twin recruiting sergeants for jihadis.

My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and those who will suffer from the fallout of this hideous act.

Already the European media are using this to further the anti Islamic agenda, with reports today that Morocco is dangerous for tourists, and tourists should be accompanied by a guide

Apparently all three suspects that have been arrested are from Marrakech. It looks like a sexual assault rather than anything religion-inspired.

From a report elsewhere it seems the girls were wild camping somewhere off the footpath between Sidi Chamrouse and the refuges.

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/201...mount-toubkal/

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

This should'nt but could happen anywhere, I havnt had chance to read the full report yet but if the suspects are from Marrakech were the girls stalked? or was this a chance meeting that lead to this tragic end.

I have travelled in this area and was made to feel welcome everywhere I went (apart from a really angry food stall maddame in Marrakech!).

Normally wild campers pass under the radar and go unoticed hence why I wonder if the poor girls were followed!

I'm terrible sorry for those women. I've been a lot of times in that area. I only can say that Morocco is an absolutely safe country. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can put you in trouble in Morocco as in your home. It seems to be a terrorist attack. People involved in sirias war are returning to their countries and trying to continue their cause. Insane but real. Be careful out there but don't stop travelling.

Enviado desde mi Redmi Note 5 mediante Tapatalk

If you think Morocco is unsafe then its clear you have little knowledge of the country. 3 terrorist attacks on tourists in the last 15 years is a lot less than the UK has had

Myself Trail ride 2000 miles for the last 3 years, traveling off road staying in small villages with no issues,

You need to compare apples with apples. In the UK are 67 million people, while maybe only a few thousand will be out travelling. Thus the probability of being subject to a terrorist attack is considerably higher abroad. Especially if you factor in which part of the world, as not all other places carry the same risk.

I'm not saying don't travel, just be aware you as a foreign traveller are at more risk in certain parts of the world than others, so behave and take precautions accordingly. As I guess we all know.

My wife and i lived in Jakarta during the years of the appauling Bali bombings.We saw the subsequent devastation the events brought to the livelihood of the local people as tourists stayed away.
We shall be wild camping as usual during the coming months and buying the usual crop of fossils etc that we dont really need and will think of these girls as we do our meager bit to help the local people through what are now going to be tough times for them.

We hope most forum members will be able to do the same.

With the discovery of social media postings prior to the murders, in which the suspected attackers declared their allegiance to Isis, there seems no doubt that the attack was premeditated.

According to a Norwegian report the girls had been camping at Les Mouflons refuge (at 3,200m below the Toubkal summit) and for some reason halted their descent to Imlil to camp near a cabin next to the track. This was totally isolated, several kilometres from the refuges and over 1km from Sidi Chamrouse further down the track.

A mountain guide had previously advised the girls not the camp alone, saying, "They were in a good mood when they were at our guide office. We went through their equipment to see that they had everything they needed. Then we advised them to bring a local guide, but they said they wanted to go on their own."

The same guide subsequently also met the four men who have now been arrested, see https://www.nrk.no/urix/motte-bade-m...kte-1.14351747

The three suspects arrested on a bus in Marrakech had shaved off their beards. They were on their way to Agadir armed with several long knives and there is a strong suspicion that a second attack on tourists was prevented by their arrest.

Since then, nine more men suspected of being involved in Monday's murders and of being ISIS members have been arrested in Morocco in areas including Chtouka Ait Baha (south of Agadir--note the paragraph above), Marrakech, Essaouira, Tanger and Sidi Bennour (near Casablanca).

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/201...thern-morocco/

A petition has been started by Moroccans asking for the death sentence for the murderers per the Moroccan Penal Code as the murders were premeditated (article 393) and used acts of barbarism (article 399). Morocco still has the death penalty but hasn't used it in more than twenty years.

https://www.change.org/p/bcij-dgsn-a...avian-tourists

The biggest danger at the moment is copycat attacks and I guess the BCIJ will be sweeping up every suspect on their radar.

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

It seems such a tragedy that these Scandinavian women were murdered. I've never met a Scandinavian traveller who wasn't full of joy at visiting another country, coming from such peace loving countries.


Not that it will in any way put me off visiting Maroc next year without worry. I've always had the impression that the population at large are incredibly incensed by extremism and are always keen to show friendliness to strangers which I think is just about as much to do with being Moroccan than any religious inclination to do so!

After 20 years in Morocco I’m very familiar with the country, it’s people and any slight risks

I don’t think population levels has anything to do with the issue. My post was in repose to a post that has now been deleted (good work mods).

Hopefully I’ll be back in March for another 6 months in a country that is as safe as anywhere


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