Longtime Moroccan jihadist Brahim Benchekroune, who is now in Syria, has launched Sham al-Islam, an al Qaeda-inspired group that recruits Moroccans to fight in Syria, with the ultimate goal of sending them back to Morocco to establish a jihadist organization there. Over 30 percent of the terrorists released from Moroccan prisons have joined al Qaeda-affiliated jihadists in Syria. The Interior Ministry said some 85 Moroccans have been arrested in recent months for ties to networks that recruit jihadists for Syria and Mali.
