RABAT, Nov. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Moroccan police have smashed a terror network in the country and arrested all its 17 members, the official MAP News Agency reported on Sunday.

    The network had contacts with the extremist forces that had penetrated into Iraq, and maintained close links with the al-Qaidaterror network, the report said.

    The top two suspects were Khaled Azig, a Moroccan national who once studied theology in Syria, and Mohamed R'ha, a Belgian of Moroccan origin. Azig returned to Morocco in June, and joined R'haon Sept. 29 to recruit and train extremists, MAP quoted police as saying.

    Among the other arrested suspects are two Moroccan-born Afghans,who were former prisoners held at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the police said.

    The police made the arrests mainly in the capital city of Rabatand the economic center Casablanca, which was hit by a series of deadly terrorist bombings in May 2003 leaving 33 people dead.

    Since the Casablanca attacks, the Moroccan police have been closely tracing terror groups. Enditem