SUMMARY

GICM (Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain; Morroccan Islamic combatant Group) was formed in Morocco sometime in the late 1990s by veterans returning from the jihad training camps in Afghanistan. The aims of the group have been stated to be to establish an Islamic State in Morocco and to support al-Qaida’s attacks on Western targets. In 2002, GICM was placed on the UN list of terrorist organisations with links to al-Qaida.

The group has been accused of carrying out both the suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003 and the train bombings in Madrid 2004. The attacks in Casablanca were, however, carried out by the Salafia Jihadia, likely an offshoot to GICM. The connections between these two groups remain somewhat unclear. It has been argued by some analysts that the name GICM in fact is more of a pseudonym for a larger network of cells with connections to al-Qaida and the international jihadist movement.

Little is known about the leadership structure of GICM, but one of the convicted for the Madrid bombings, Hassan el Haski, is thought to be a senior figure in the group. According to the judge’s order to arrest him in 2004, Haski has stated that “his group of Moroccans in Spain” was behind the Madrid attacks. However, at the opening of the trial in February 2007, all the accused denied any part in the deed. Hassan el Haski, was later also convicted for his involvement in the 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca.

At the core, the group is estimated to number some few hundred members, but the support base might range from 1000 to 2000, residing mainly in Morocco and Spain. However, cells connected to GICM are known to also have operated in Italy, the UK, Denmark, Egypt, France and the Netherlands, although the Madrid bombings are the only attacks which have been attributed to the group.

GICM has been involved in the one-sided category of UCDP organised violence.