Casablanca (Morocco): Two brothers strapped with explosives blew themselves up near the American Language Center in Casablanca on Saturday, and police arrested three people - including one wearing an explosives belt, an official and news reports said.
A second explosives belt was found beside the swank Kandara Hotel near the site where the men detonated their explosives, killing themselves and injuring a woman, the Interior Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy.
He said it was not immediately clear what the target of a potential second attack might have been. One man blew himself up beside the language center and the other killed himself on an adjacent boulevard. Police cordoned off the area around the site.
The three suspects were arrested at the scene, the official said, a neighborhood in the heart of Casablanca, Morocco's largest city, dotted with high-rises, hotels and diplomatic missions, including the US Consulate. A synagogue is also in the neighborhood.
The Interior Ministry official said the belts linked the bombers with three men who blew themselves up in Casablanca on Tuesday after being cornered by police. A police sniper shot and killed a fourth man who authorities said appeared to be preparing to detonate a bomb.
The official MAP news agency identified the two bombers who killed themselves Saturday as brothers born in Casablanca, Mohamed Maha, born in 1975 and not previously known to police, and Omar Maha, born in 1984 and sought by police in earlier bombings in the city. The agency cited police officials for its information.
MAP also reported that police had arrested the leader of a group responsible for the Tuesday suicide bombings and another last month in a cyber cafe in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city.
It did not identify the suspect or say when the arrest took place. The agency said hideouts where explosive devices were put together also had been uncovered, along with identities of members of the group now being sought.
The attacks stoked new fears of terrorism in this North African kingdom and across the region.
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