Morocco on maximum security alert during Eid celebrations

Morocco has put its security services on maximum security alert over terror threat during Eid al-Adha celebrations, local media reported on Saturday.

The annual festival is also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, which marks the end of the spiritual peak of the annual pilgrimage or Haj in Arabic, when pilgrims descend from the hill of Arafat to the nearby holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Eid al-Adha will take place on Monday in Morocco, Xinhua news agency reported.

Citing security sources, Moroccan daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia said that the raise of the alert to its highest level is motivated by the growing threats the country is facing from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

The measures are also driven by the threat posed by the increasing numbers of Moroccans sympathising with the terrorist organisation as evidenced by the rising number of terror cells busted in the past months, the source added.

--IANS

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