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Authorities arrested four suspects connected to the murders of two young Scandinavian women, along with 15 other individuals potentially linked to the killings, according to a Monday statement from a security source.
The four main suspects are described as “lone wolves” who reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) three days before the girls’ murders, according to Reuters, citing the Moroccan state 2M TV. Though the suspects pledged allegiance to ISIS before allegedly killing the women, authorities do not believe the foreign terrorist group aided the suspects in the attack, according to intelligence spokesman Boubker Sabik.
While the video of the suspects pledging allegiance to ISIS has not been verified by American press, Moroccan authorities deemed it authentic, according to CNN.
The two women — Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, of Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, of Norway — were hiking across the Atlas Mountains in Morocco at the time of their deaths.
Witnesses saw Jespersen and Ueland with three men at their hotel in Marrakesh prior to the deaths, CNN reported.
The women were found dead near the village of Imlil on Dec. 17, according to Reuters.
Hundreds of grotesque images of what appeared to be the murdered women were sent to Maren Ueland’s mother, Irene Ueland, via Facebook, the Daily Mirror reported. (RELATED: Former Christian Altar Boy Opens Up About Why He Joined ISIS, ‘Right Of Revenge’)
Police recovered knives, suspected bomb-making materials, electronic devices and an unauthorized hunting rifle among the main suspects’ possessions, according to Reuters.
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