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Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
Dates of operation	1998–2010s
Active regions	Morocco, Algeria, Spain, Western Europe, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Canada, Brazil
Ideology	Salafi jihadism
Allies	Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Salafia Jihadia Libyan Islamic Fighting Group Tunisian Combatant Group
Opponents	Morocco  Algeria Western world Multi-National Force – Iraq

The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, known by the French acronym GICM (Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain), was a Sunni Islamist militant organization that operated in Morocco, North Africa, and Western Europe. The organization's objective was to establish an Islamic government in Morocco.

GICM was established in 1998 after Arab Afghan veteran fighters, who had fought alongside the Afghan Mujahideen, returned to Morocco with the objective of forming a militant organization. GICM and its associated members have been linked to the 2003 Casablanca bombings and the 2004 Madrid train bombings. A major crackdown against the organization's numerous cells in Europe is thought to have since significantly damaged the GICM's capabilities. By 2013, the group had become defunct, with the United States no longer considering it a functional organization.

History

Background

The GICM was founded in the 1990s by Moroccan recruits from al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and former Mujahideen veterans from the Soviet–Afghan War. Formed as a splinter group of the Harakat al-Islamiya al-Maghrebiya al-Mukatila (HASM) and Shabiba al-Islamiya groups, the GICM's stated goal was to establish an Islamic state in Morocco. The group gained its finances from criminal activities such as robberies, extortions, document forgery, illegal drug trade and arms trafficking through North Africa and Europe. One early cell affiliated with the group was responsible for killing two Spanish tourists at the Atlas Asni Hotel in Marrakesh in August 1994. The ideological leader of the group was Ahmed Rafiki (a.k.a. Abou Hodeifa), who was responsible for organizing Moroccan fighters in Afghanistan.

Attacks linked to GICM

Along with other Al-Qaeda affiliates, GICM was banned worldwide by the UN 1267 Committee in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001. The group was later linked to several terrorist attacks. In 2003 twelve suicide bombers from the associated group Salafia Jihadia were responsible for coordinated suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 33 people. At least eight of the people convicted after the bombings were accused of being members of the GICM. Noureddine Nafia, an important early leader of the group was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Saad Houssaini, the group's suspected military committee chief (arrested in 2007) was sentenced to 15 years.

A year after the Casablanca bombings, the GICM became the principal suspect after the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded over 2,000. A cell linked to the attacks was affiliated with the GICM through Youssef Belhadj and Hassan el-Haski, who were based in Belgium. A main perpetrator, Jamal Zougam had met GICM leaders including Mohammed al-Guerbouzi [fr] (a.k.a. Abou Issa) in the United Kingdom, and Abdelaziz Benyaich in Morocco.

The group has also been linked to the 2007 Casablanca bombings. Also active with recruiting jihadist fighters to Iraq, the GICM has been responsible for attacks including at least one suicide bombing against the Multi-National Force – Iraq.

Activities and cells

A large part of the GICM's membership was drawn from the Moroccan diaspora in Western Europe, where it was involved in a number of terrorist plots. The organization in Europe is based in the United Kingdom, but has had numerous cells, including sleeper cells in Spain, Belgium, Italy, France, Denmark, Turkey, Egypt and the Netherlands.

The European organization is thought to have been led by British national Mohammed al-Guerbouzi, who in 2001 was arrested by Iranian authorities and extradited to the United Kingdom, and later sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison in Morocco for his role in the 2003 Casablanca bombings. A Belgian cell led by Abdelkader Hakimi, Lahoussine el-Haski, Mostafa Louanani, and eight other men were convicted in 2006. Members of the GICM have also been arrested in Spain and France. Four members were arrested in the Canary Islands in December 2004, suspected of preparing to establish a new base for the group. The Catalonia-based Rabet and Nakcha groups, which recruited suicide bombers to Iraq were dismantled in 2005 and 2006. In Paris, thirteen people suspected of links to the GICM were arrested in 2004. The imam of a mosque in Varese, Italy suspected of raising money and recruiting for the GICM was extradited to Morocco in 2008. According to the Federal Police of Brazil, GICM is one of seven Islamic terrorist groups active in the country, and in the border area with Argentina and Paraguay. The group has also operated in Canada.

By 2010, most of the organization's leadership had reportedly been imprisoned or killed, although former cells and members at large were still considered a possible threat. Although not officially confirmed, according to some sources the group has joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). A cell with 27 members in Tétouan arrested in January 2007 had logistical and financial links to GICM and AQIM. Mohamed Moumou (aka Abu Qaswarah), second-in-command of Al-Qaida in Iraq was originally a key member of the GICM. Karim el-Mejjati, another founding leader of the group, was killed in 2005 after having become a leader of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia.

The group was removed from the United States' list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in 2013, seemingly confirming its complete dissolution as an entity by that point.

Foreign relations

Designation as a terrorist organization

Countries and organizations below have officially listed the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group as a terrorist organization.

Country	Date	References
United Nations	10 October 2002
United States	5 December 2002–28 May 2013
United Kingdom	14 October 2005

References

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9. M. Bruguière est cité comme témoin devant un tribunal Archived 3 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Le Monde, 1 June 2007 (in French)
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18. Botha, Anneli (June 2008). "Terrorism in the Maghreb: The Transnationalisation of Domestic Terrorism: Chapter 5: North African Involvement in Transnational Terror Networks". Institute for Security Studies. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
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Leadership	Saif al-Adel Abd al-Rahman al-Maghribi Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki Ahmad Umar Iyad Ag Ghaly Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil Abu Ubaidah Youssef al-Annabi Ali Sayyid Muhamed Mustafa al-Bakri Ibrahim al-Banna Ibrahim al Qosi Abu Walid al-Masri Mohammed Showqi Al-Islambouli Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir Fuad Qalaf Jehad Mostafa Abu Humam al-Shami Sami al-Oraydi
Former leadership	Killed Osama bin Laden (killing) Ayman al-Zawahiri (killing) Mohammed Atef Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi Mustafa Mohamed Fadhil Haitham al-Yemeni Abu Hamza Rabia Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Omar al-Faruq Haitham al-Badri Abu Yaqub al-Masri Abu Talha al-Sudani Abu Laith al-Libi Abu Sulayman Al-Jazairi Midhat Mursi Mohamed Moumou Khalid Habib Abu Ghadiya Abu Zubair al-Masri Rashid Rauf Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan Saad bin Laden Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan Abdullah Said al Libi Saleh al-Somali Saeed al-Masri Hamza al-Jawfi Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali Mohamed Abul-Khair Sheikh Fateh Huthaifa al-Batawi Ilyas Kashmiri Fazul Abdullah Mohammed Atiyah Abd al-Rahman Anwar al-Awlaki Samir Khan Tariq al-Dahab Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan Fahd al-Quso Abu Yahya al-Libi Hassan Ghul Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti Said Ali al-Shihri Farman Ali Shinwari Abdelhamid Abou Zeid Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki Said Bahaji Abu Khalid al-Suri Omar Ould Hamaha Ahmed Abdi Godane Abu Yusuf Al-Turki Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah Adam Yahiye Gadahn Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari Othman Ahmad Othman al-Ghamdi Ibrahim Sulayman Muhammad al-Rubaysh Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi Nasir al-Wuhayshi Muhsin al-Fadhli Abu Khalil al-Madani Matiur Rehman Abu Firas al-Suri Ahmed Refai Taha Mokhtar Belmokhtar Abu Khayr al-Masri Ibrahim al-Asiri Hamza bin Laden Sari Shihab Asim Umar Qasim al-Raymi Abdelmalek Droukdel Khalid al-Aruri Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Abu Muhsin al-Masri Captured Mamdouh Mahmud Salim Wadih el-Hage Khalid al-Fawwaz Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Walid bin Attash Riduan Isamuddin Ali al-Bahlul Ahmed Ghailani Abu Faraj al-Libbi Mustafa Setmariam Nasar Abdul Hadi al Iraqi Muhammad Jafar Jamal al-Kahtani Mohamed Atiq Awayd Al Harbi Younis al-Mauritani Sulaiman Abu Ghaith Abu Anas al-Libi Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh Mukhtar Robow Amin al-Haq Other Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri (died) Abu Ubaidah al-Masri (died) Mahfouz Ould al-Walid (left) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (expelled) Abu Mohammad al-Julani (left) Abu Maria al-Qahtani (left) Ahmad Salama Mabruk (left) Abu Omar al-Turkistani (left) Abu Sulayman al-Muhajir (left) Khalid Batarfi (died)
Timeline of attacks	1998 United States embassy bombings 2000 USS Cole bombing 2001 September 11 attacks 2002 Bali bombings 2004 Madrid train bombings 2005 London bombings 2007 Algiers bombings 2008 Islamabad Danish embassy bombing 2008 Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing 2013 In Amenas hostage crisis 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting 2015 Garissa University College attack 2015 Bamako hotel attack 2016 Ouagadougou attacks 2016 Grand-Bassam shootings 2016 Bamako attack 2019 Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting
Wars	Soviet–Afghan War Afghan Civil War (1989–1992) Afghan Civil War (1992–1996) First Chechen War Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) Second Chechen War War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Iraq War Somali Civil War War in North-West Pakistan (drone strikes) Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) Syrian civil war Yemeni civil war (2014–present) Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Houthi insurgency
Affiliates	Al-Shabaab (Somalia) Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (North Africa) Egyptian Islamic Jihad (Egypt) Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent (Indian subcontinent) Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (Mali) Hurras al-Din (Syria)
Charity organizations	Benevolence International Foundation Al-Haramain Foundation
Media	Al Qaeda Handbook Al Neda As-Sahab Al-Andalus Media Al-Kataib Media Foundation Radio al-Andalus Shahada News Agency Al-Malahem Media Inspire Az-Zallaqa Foundation Fatawā of Osama bin Laden Al-Khansaa Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit Management of Savagery Voice of Jihad Qaedat al-Jihad Global Islamic Media Front
Video and audio	Videos and audio recordings of Osama bin Laden Videos and audio recordings of Ayman al-Zawahiri USS Cole bombing
Related	Safe houses Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theory Timeline
Category:Al-Qaeda

• Jihadist groups
• Rebel groups in Morocco
• Islamic terrorism in Morocco
• Islamic terrorism in Belgium
• Islamic terrorism in France
• Islamic terrorism in Italy
• Islamic terrorism in Spain
• Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom
• Terrorism in Brazil
• Islam in Brazil
• Islamic terrorism in South America
• 2004 Madrid train bombings
• Organisations designated as terrorist by the United Kingdom
• Organizations designated as terrorist by the United States
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• Transnational organized crime