Marrakesh, Morocco - The al-Qaeda terror network is among the suspects in connection with a bomb attack that killed 16 in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh.
Communications minister Khalid Naciri said investigators would pursue all leads including possible links to al-qaeda which operates a North African offshoot that is active in the region.
“All leads will be investigated, including al-Qaeda,” he said.
“The investigation to find the perpetrators continues, but for the moment I am not prepared to point the finger.”
Fourteen people, most of them foreigners, died on Thursday when a suspected suicide bomb exploded at a crowded tourist cafe in Djemaa el-Fna, the main square of Marrakesh.
Another 23 people were badly injured, two of whom died overnight, bringing the toll to 16 on Friday.
The blast was condemned as a terrorist attack by the Moroccan government, the United States and France; a Moroccan official said it may have been the work of a suicide bomber.
Interior minister Taib Cherkaoui said the 14 who died on Thursday included 11 foreigners. No nationalities were given for the two fatalities on Friday.
Authorities in France said at lest six of the dead were French.
Rabat, Washington and Paris condemned what they said was a “terrorist” attack on the cafe, a favourite haunt for foreign visitors to the touristic city about 350km south of the capital.
al-Qaeda's regional offshoot, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, is active in countries in the region, notably carrying out a series of kidnappings for ransom in recent years.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who spoke to Morocco's King Mohammed IV by telephone on Thursday, said the bombing was “heinous, cruel and cowardly”.
Witnesses said the explosion happened on the terrace of the popular Argana cafe. The facade and first floor of the building were severely damaged, with tables and chairs strewn around the terrace.
The latest attack was the deadliest in the North African monarchy since 33 people were killed by 12 suicide bombers in Casablanca in 2003. An attempted attack in 2007 was thwarted and one of three would-be bombers killed.
Morocco, a country of 32 million people whose economy relies heavily on tourism, has largely been spared the pro-change revolts that have swept the Arab world since the end of 2010.
But there have been three protests since February to demand reform, prompting King Mohammed to announce major political changes, including greater judicial independence.
In mid-April, he pardoned political prisoners, including Islamists, in a gesture of appeasement.
Moroccan security forces have been deployed in the country in the wake of the blast.
A senior police official said cordons had been erected at the entrances to Morocco's main cities, “to ensure the internal security of the country”.
French intelligence and anti-terrorism experts will travel to Marrakesh on Friday to help in the probe.
The United Nations, Britain, Germany, Spain and the Council of Europe human rights watchdog also condemned the attack.
British foreign secretary William Hague described it as “utterly reprehensible”, and said alleged links to terrorism were worrying. - Sapa-AFP