The 2011 Marrakesh bombing killed 17 people in the city of Marrakesh, Morocco on 28 April 2011, just before noon. The blast, from a bomb left in a bag, destroyed the Argana cafe in Jemaa el-Fnaa square, a popular tourist spot. At least 20 people were injured. Most of the dead were tourists, including one group of French students.
Casualties
17 people were killed, of which fourteen died on the site, while three more succumbed to their injuries the next day. 25 people were injured, four seriously, including Russian computer hackerRoman Seleznev. The casualties were eight French nationals, including a girl of 10 years, originally from northern France, an Israeli-Canadian woman and her Moroccan husband, another Moroccan citizen, a Briton, a Dutchman, a Swiss and a Portuguese. The Swiss and the Portuguese were the companions of two Ticino natives injured in the same attack. Among the injured, 14 were hospitalised and four were repatriated to their country the next day, while others left the hospital after receiving the necessary care. One of the Swiss later died while in hospital in Zurich.
Responsibility
Morocco blamed Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb for the bombing. The group has been fighting an insurgent campaign since 2002. However, Al Qaeda denied responsibility for the blast. On 28 October 2011, in court in Rabat, Adel al-Othmani was sentenced to death for his role in the bombing. Hakim Dah received a life sentence. Four others were given four years and three were given a two-year sentence for their roles. The defendants complained that the case against them was based on confessions coerced through torture and lacked hard evidence.
International reactions
– PresidentSerzh Sargsyan sent his condolences to the King of Morocco and stated his support "in finding the culprits and bringing them to justice". condemned the blast as being "cruel and cowardly". Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said: "with consternation of the terrorist attack,". Alain Juppé, the French foreign minister, criticised "this barbaric terrorist attack that nothing can justify", calling in a statement for "all light to be shed on this revolting crime, for those responsible to be found, tried and punished". urged that the attack "must not stop the reform process that has been initiated in Morocco", referring to the ongoing "Arab Spring". - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that "the United States condemns in the strongest terms today's terrorist attack that killed and injured innocent people at a cafe in Marrakesh, Morocco. We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims of this cowardly attack and stand with the people of Morocco at this difficult time."
