Moroccan police say Marrakesh bomber dressed like a “hippie”
Tourists walk past the cordonned-off area around the Argana restaurant (in background) in Jamaa El-Fna square in Marrakech is pictured on April 28, 2011 after a powerful blast killed 15 people there, six of them French nationals, public television reported quoting medical officials. An interior ministry official confirmed the report and said an investigation was under way to shed more light on the blast which occurred on Jamaa El Fna square, a favourite spot for foreign visitors, in central Marrakesh. Earlier reports spoke of the accidental explosion of several gas canisters in the Argana cafe in the middle of the square.
Moroccan anti-terror officials are now on heightened alert for what they believe is the latest weapon being used by Al-Qaeda in North Africa: guitar-wielding hippies.
Authorities in Morocco told Reuters that the prime suspect in the April 28 bomb blast outside a cafe in Marakessh, which killed 17 people, disguised himself as a "hippie".
According to the New York Times:
The suspect, identified as Adel al-Othmani, walked into the cafe wearing a wig and carrying a guitar and the two bags in which he had hid the explosive devices, the official said. “He looked like a hippie,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official said the man ordered an orange juice and left the cafe without the bags. “He used a mobile phone to detonate the bombs afterward,” the official said.
Last week's bomb blast on the edge of the popular Djemma el Fna Square in Marrakesh, one of Morocco's most visited tourist destinations, was the worst terror attack in the North African kingdom since 2003.
The semblance of instability in Morocco couldn't come at a worse time for the country's ruler, King Mohammed VI, who is eager to avoid contagion from the same type of unrest that began sweeping across his North African neighbors earlier this year.
But Moroccan police on the lookout will surely have their hands full.
Morocco has long been a favored stop on the "hippie trail". The country's sunny beaches have been wildly popular with windsurfers since the 1960's. Tangier, a Mediteranean city far to the north of Marrakesh, was a favorite spot of the Rolling Stones, Jack Kerouak, and other beatnik writers.
Not to mention, the internet is awash with hundreds of how-to guides for potential terrorists (see video below):