(middleeastmonitor) -- Authorities had announced the arrest of 11 people on suspicion of belonging to an Isis-led terrorist cell who operated in eight cities, in the north and in the centre of the country. At the time, the authorities said the group planned to carry out terrorist attacks against sensitive sites.

Yesterday, the ministry said in a statement that analyzing the material confiscated from the group showed that they are used as basic chemicals to manufacture explosives that would have been used to carry out terrorist plans in the Kingdom.

“Some of these chemicals are used to speed up the explosion and increase its intensity,” it said.

“The confiscated fire extinguishers would have been used as containers to be filled with explosive material as well as small amounts of nails and metal pieces in order to cause serious loss of life and property,” it added.

“The bottles of butane gas that have been seized can be used as incendiary devices to double the force of the explosion during terrorist operations,” it said.

Morocco was hit by a major attack in the northern city of Casablanca in 2003 which killed 43 people, and another attack in Marrakech in 2013 which killed 17.

(File Photo: Moroccan police)