Patrick Poole at PJ Media reports: “Beheading of Female Scandinavian Hikers in Morocco Now Investigated as Terrorism.”
A horrific video apparently showing the killing of one of two female Scandinavian hikers murdered in Morocco this week, recorded by one of the killers, depicts another killer stating the murders are revenge for the killing of his “brothers” of the Islamic State in Syria.
One of the men now in custody was known to be connected to ISIS, the prosecutor general’s office said yesterday.
This looks like another case of naive Westerners underestimating Third World hazards. But these murders weren’t random.
The bodies of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway were discovered at their camp site on Monday near Imlal, a small village on a hiking route to Mount Toubkal — the highest peak in North Africa.
The women, who were studying outdoor life, culture, and eco-philosophy at the University of South-Eastern Norway, were on a month-long trip through North Africa.
Apparently nearby campers saw the murderers leaving the area hastily in the middle of the night and filmed them. That led to several arrests. These tools, including “meat knives,” were confiscated when the men were arrested:
The Islamic terrorists made a video as they beheaded one of the young women and proudly posted it on social media.
There are indications that the men may have stalked the pair.
The purported mobile video of the beheading of one of the hikers appeared on social media yesterday. Some media reports are claiming that Danish intelligence has already authenticated the beheading video. The video (which I have seen, but will not link to) shows one of the women in a t-shirt and underwear inside of the tent having her head cut off with a knife.
A police spokesman says terrorism is “suspected.” No kidding, Sherlock:
One of the men shouts: “This is for Syria, here are the heads of your Gods,” and “This is in revenge for our brothers in Hajin.” Hajin is one of the few remaining areas of Syria with an active ISIS presence, currently being targeted by coalition forces.
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It has been reported that approximately 1700 Moroccans traveled to Syria to join ISIS, and there have been recent arrests of Islamic State cells, including the arrest of a six-member cell in Beni-Mellal earlier this month.
I don’t have an opinion on whether President Trump’s intended withdrawal of troops from Syria is a good idea. Some years ago, I called for withdrawal from Afghanistan on the ground that the Afghans are hopeless, and will be for the foreseeable future. Still, anywhere in the world, killing terrorists and terrorist supporters is a worthwhile objective.
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