Response
A large demonstration was organized through the streets of Casablanca. Tens of thousands marched, carrying banners such as "Say No to Terrorism". They shouted "Down with Hate" and "United against Terrorism".
Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, toured the bombing sites and was cheered by crowds of people. Moroccan authorities said in May 2004 that they had arrested 2,000 people in connection with the attacks, and began to put them on trial.
World leaders condemned the attacks, coming on the heels of the Riyadh compound bombings. In response to that attack and the Casablanca attacks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raised the terror threat level to Orange.
Salafia Jihadia, an offshoot of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group and believed to have al-Qaeda links, is suspected of sending out the bombers. On March 19, 2004, Belgian police arrested a suspect wanted by the Moroccan government in connection with the bombings. In December 2004, a man named Hasan al-Haski, charged in the 2004 Madrid bombings, was questioned over his links to the Casablanca bombings and was believed to have helped plan them.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was believed to have ordered the bombings. He was killed in airstrike on June 7, 2006.
Saad Bin Laden was believed to have had direct involvement in the bombings. He was killed in a drone strike in 2009.
Read more about this topic: 2003 Casablanca Bombings
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