Moroccan man dies in internet cafe explosion

A MOROCCAN man who was stopped from looking at terrorist websites in an internet cafe in Casablanca blew himself up with explosives, the country’s Interior Ministry said yesterday.

The man was killed and four people were injured in the blast on Sunday night, including the dead man’s companion, who was taken to hospital with burns and a throat injury, said ministry spokesman Abderrahman Achour.

Authorities, uncertain about the circumstances of the blast in a Casablanca slum, were holding off labelling it a suicide bombing. Achour said it was possible that the man was transporting explosives that went off at an unplanned moment.

Moroccan police have been cracking down on suspected Islamist extremists since suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003 killed 45 people and woke the north African country to the threat of Islamic terrorism.

The dead man was identified as Abdelftah Raidi, who was convicted of suspected terror links and sentenced to five years in prison before being pardoned in 2005, Achour said. Raidi, a Casablanca native in his early 20s, was jobless, he said.

His injured companion was identified as Yusuf Khoudri, also from Casablanca, the ministry spokesman said.

The other three people injured in the blast included the internet cafe owner’s son, the official MAP news agency reported.

Khoudri fled the cafe but was later arrested. Police said he was drunk when they held him for questioning.