2011 Marrakesh bombing

2011 Marrakesh bombing
Djemaa el Fna on the day after the bombing
Location	Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, Marrakesh, Morocco
Date	28 April 2011 before noon (UTC+1)
Attack type	Explosive device
Deaths	17
Injured	25

File:Marrakech - Restaurant Argana 2006.jpg

The bombing site as it looked in 2006, well before the bombing took place, for comparison

The 2011 Marrakesh bombing killed 17 people in the city of Marrakesh, Morocco on 28 April 2011, just before noon. The blast, from a bomb left in a bag, destroyed the Argana cafe in Jemaa el-Fnaa square, a popular tourist spot. At least 20 people were injured. Most of the dead were tourists, including one group of French students.

Casualties

17 people were killed, of which 14 died on the site, while 3 more were reported dead the next day. 25 people were injured, four seriously.

File:Marrakech Argana Bomb Site 2011.jpg

Police investigating on the site a few hours after the explosion

Eight French nationals were killed, one of them a girl of 10 years, originally from northern France. Also killed were an Israeli-Canadian, a Briton (Peter Moss, 59, from London who was a former writer for the newspaper The Jewish Chronicle), a Dutchman, a Swiss, and a Portuguese living in Switzerland. The Swiss and Portuguese were the companions of two Ticino natives injured in the same attack.

In addition to these foreign nationals, two Moroccans were killed. One was the husband of the Israeli-Canadian killed.

Among the injured, 14 were hospitalized and four were repatriated to their country the next day (two Swiss and two Russians), while others left the hospital after receiving the necessary care. One of the Swiss later died while in hospital in Zurich.

Responsibility

Morocco blamed Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb for the bombing. The group has been fighting an insurgent campaign since 2002. However, Al Qaeda denied responsibility for the blast.

Rumors on internet blogs, that have been removed, argue that the attack was not carried out by Islamic terrorists. The modus operandi is incongruent with Al Qaeda's or the branches of Al Qaeda methods. The bomb was detonated remotely, reminiscent of militant groups working for government or parastates. The rumors talk about a government plot to appease protesters during the Arab Spring.

On 28 October 2011, in court in Rabat, Adel al-Othmani was sentenced to death for his role in the bombing. Hakim Dah received a life sentence. Four others were given four years and three were given a two-year sentence for their roles. The defendants complained that the case against them was based on confessions coerced through torture and lacked hard evidence.

International reactions

Armenia – President Serzh Sargsyan sent his condolences to the King of Morocco and stated his support "in finding the culprits and bringing them to justice.”

France condemned the blast as being "cruel and cowardly". Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said : "with consternation of the terrorist attack,". Alain Juppé, the French foreign minister, criticized "this barbaric terrorist attack that nothing can justify", calling in a statement for "all light to be shed on this revolting crime, for those responsible to be found, tried and punished".

Germany urged that the attack "must not stop the reform process that has been initiated in Morocco", referring to the ongoing "Arab Spring".

USA - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that "the United States condemns in the strongest terms today's terrorist attack that killed and injured innocent people at a cafe in Marrakesh, Morocco. We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims of this cowardly attack and stand with the people of Morocco at this difficult time."