Terrorist suicide bomber suspected in Morocco cafe blast, 15 dead

A blast rips through a cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, killing 15. Officials say they suspect a terrorist suicide bomber is responsible.

Investigators work at the scene of an explosion which rocked the Argana cafe in Marrakesh's Jamaa el-Fnaa square Thursday. A bomb killed 15 people including foreigners in Morocco's bustling tourist deShow more

MARRAKESH, MOROCCO // A suspected suicide bomber triggered a bomb in a cafe popular among tourists yesterday, killing 15 people, including 10 foreigners, and wounding 20 others in what authorities said was a terrorist attack.

The blast ripped through the Argana cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. The cafe overlooks Marrakesh's Jamaa el-Fnaa square, a spot often packed with foreign tourists. A witnesses reported seeing rescuers pulling dismembered bodies from the wreckage. The blast was Morocco's deadliest attack in eight years.

"Analysis of the early evidence collected at the site of the blast that occurred on Thursday at a cafe in Marrakesh confirms the theory of an attack," the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the official MAP news agency.

Jammaa-el-Fnaa square is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a focal point for the hordes of western tourists who visit the Marrakech's medina, or old town.

Moroccan government spokesman Khalid Naciri said that the 15 slain people came from a variety of countries but he did not say which ones. He called the explosion a terrorist attack.

"We worked for more than an hour, maybe less, on the hypothesis that this could eventually be accidental. But initial results of the investigation confirm that we are confronted with a true criminal act," Mr Naciri said in an interview with France-24 television.

He said an investigation was underway to learn more about the methods used in the bombing.

"There was a huge bang, and lots of smoke went up. There was debris raining down from the sky. Hundreds of people were running in panic, some towards the cafe, some away from the square. The whole front of the cafe is blown away," witness Andy Birnie, of north London, told reporters.

There were contradictory reports on exactly how the blast occurred. One witness who was inside the cafe but escaped unscathed said: "An individual entered, ordered an orange juice and a few minutes later blew himself up." But another witness, quoted by several Moroccan radio stations, said the bomber dropped a suitcase and immediately walked out of the cafe. Latifa Idrissi, whose husband Yassine Bouzidi, 28, was one of the victims, said the blast occurred on the cafe's terrace and badly injured the manager. A medical source speaking on condition of anonymity said five women are among the 10 dead foreigners. "We cannot at this stage determine the exact identity of all the victims," the source added. Morocco's King Mohamed VI offered condolences to victims and ordered the interior and justice ministers to conduct an investigation "to determine the causes, the reasons and the goals of this criminal explosion," local media reported, quoting a statement from the Royal Cabinet.

Morocco has been the target of several plots by the North African branch of al-Qaida, and is also home to local militant groups. Mr Naciri said by telephone that it was too soon to say who was behind what he called a terrorist attack.

Morocco was hit by terrorist bombings in Casablanca in 2003 that killed 45 people, including the suicide bombers. Moroccan authorities have regularly rounded up terror suspects since then and have been on alert for terrorist activity. The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, or GICM, a militant group was believed linked to those attacks. The GICM has also been implicated in the deadly attacks in Madrid in March 2004. Al Qa'eda has an affiliate operating in North Africa that stages regular attacks and kidnappings in Algeria. Morocco has said in the past that it has dismantled several al Qa'eda plots. Al Qa'eda in the Islamic Maghreb currently holds four Frenchmen hostage after kidnapping them in Niger last year, and recently released new images and audio recordings of their voices. Portuguese tourist Alexandre Carvalho, a 34 year-old call centre worker from southern Portugal said, "I had just arrived at the square, the area where most cafes are located. Suddenly I heard this massive explosion. I had my back turned to it. I turned around to see it the explosion had happened on the veranda of a cafe. "There were at least 10 injured people, lots of debris, things flying up in the air. I saw people in a panic running towards the area with fire extinguishers, some people being carried away. I believe the injured were mostly tourists, judging by what they were wearing," Carvalho told AP by telephone.

- With reporting by the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.