13 people arrested in Morocco tourist beheadings

A total of 13 people have been arrested in relation to the beheading deaths of two tourists in Morocco.

CNN quoted the state-controlled 2M news agency, stating that nine out of the 13 arrested were detained in different cities for their alleged connection to the four murder suspects.

Four people are suspected in the killing of the 28-year-old Maren Ueland of Norway and 24-year-old Louisa Jespersen of Denmark. 2M quoted a Moroccan national security spokesman Boubker Sabik as revealing that one of the four suspects has previously served a two-year sentence in an extremism-related case.

The bodies of the two travelers were found Monday in the High Atlas mountain range.

The two women were spotted with three men in their hotel in Marrakesh before heading to the Atlas Mountains for a hike. They were found in Imlil which is an unguarded and remote area on the mountain range.

The tourists were killed using a "melee weapon", stated the state-run Maghreb Arab Press as quoted by CNN.

While the Moroccan government has termed the murder a "terrorist and criminal act," the Danish Prime Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen stated that the killings seem to be "politically motivated and thus a terrorist act.