| Partof: | Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) |
| Date: | May–June 2002 |
| Location: | Strait of Gibraltar |
| Suspects: | al-Qaeda (GICM) |
In May and June 2002, Moroccan authorities arrested several people in connection with an Al-Qaeda plot to attack American and British naval ships and shipping in the Strait of Gibraltar.[1] Three Saudi Arabians were arrested for the plot, followed by several Moroccan Islamists, many members of Salafia Jihadia.[2] [3] [4]
The three Saudi nationals arrested were Zuher al-Tbaiti, the suspected ringleader, and Abdullah al-Ghamdi and Hilal al-Assiri.[2] The three eventually confessed to the plot, having escaped Afghanistan in 2001 during the Battle of Tora Bora.[2] The men had reportedly been instructed to the plot by a senior aide to Osama bin Laden based in Pakistan, named "Abu Bilal", suspected by authorities to be Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri who later reportedly confessed to having been behind the plot.[2] [5] The plot involved using speedboats packed with explosives in suicide bombings against American and British vessels, and possibly suicide bombings in Gibraltar.[5] [6]
The Saudis were married to Moroccan women through the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM).[4] The wives of two of the men were arrested, suspected of having been used as money couriers for al-Qaeda and to have been aware of the plots; one of the two women attempted to hide explosives in her apartment when she was arrested by security forces.[7] According to one official, the plot had been planned "well before" the September 11 attacks.[7] Attacks were reportedly also planned in Morocco, notably in the tourist centre of Marrakesh.[2] The three Saudi Arabians were sentenced to ten years imprisonment in February 2003.[5]
The plot was widely compared to the USS Cole bombing of 2000.[1] [2] [7] The bombing of USS Cole, as well as the later bombing of the French-registered oil tanker Limburg in October 2002, have also been linked to al-Nashiri.[5]
In 2003, NATO began escorting civilian ships through the Strait of Gibraltar amid fears of terrorist attacks.[8] The Strait was mentioned as a target by Al-Qaeda in 2014, when through its magazine Resurgence it urged its followers of attacks against central transport hubs to destabilise the world economy.[9]