A linked series of incidents
On March 11, 2007, an explosion occurred inside an Internet café in Casablanca. The man carrying the explosive device died, while an alleged accomplice and several people in the café were injured. Investigators treated the incident as the starting point of a wider case and pursued a group of suspects believed to be preparing further attacks.
On April 10, police operations against suspects linked to that investigation ended with several men detonating explosives while attempting to avoid capture and another suspect being shot by police. Contemporary reporting recorded the death of a police officer and injuries to civilians and officers during the confrontation.
Four days later, on April 14, two bombers detonated themselves near the U.S. Consulate and the American Language Center in Casablanca. U.S. diplomatic reporting stated that there were no fatalities beyond the two bombers in those explosions and that one other person was wounded.
Investigation
The U.S. State Department's 2007 terrorism report described the March and April incidents as a linked series. It recorded that the investigation of the March 11 explosion led police to additional suspects and to subsequent raids, arrests and the discovery of locations associated with the group.
The same report stressed that the 2007 violence differed from the coordinated mass-casualty attacks of May 2003. The 2007 incidents were described as smaller, more fragmented operations associated with local extremist networks rather than a single repetition of the 2003 event. For that reason this archive treats the two years as separate cases.
Trials and convictions
Moroccan courts prosecuted people accused of participating in or supporting the 2007 network. In June 2008, an appellate juvenile chamber confirmed prison terms of 15 years for Youssef Khoudri and 10 years each for Othman Raydi and Abdelhadi Raibi for terrorism-related offenses connected to the March–April events.
In October 2008, the Salé Court of Appeal convicted 47 people in a broader case connected to the attacks, with sentences ranging from two to 30 years; four defendants were acquitted. The heaviest reported sentence was 30 years. The range of outcomes matters: this page does not describe acquitted defendants as participants in the bombings.
Why this is one case file
The March and April incidents are grouped here because investigators and later court proceedings treated them as part of a connected network and because the investigation of the first event directly led to later police operations and prosecutions. They are not artificially split into separate pages to inflate case counts.
March 11, 2007: an explosion at an Internet café kills the man carrying the device and injures several others.
April 10: police operations against linked suspects end in multiple explosions and fatalities, including a police officer.
April 14: two further bombers detonate near U.S.-associated sites; no one else is killed and one person is reported wounded.
June 2008: appellate sentences for three juvenile defendants are confirmed.
October 17, 2008: 47 people receive prison sentences in a broader terrorism case linked to the 2007 series; four are acquitted.
Current status
The linked 2007 Casablanca incidents are historically established and produced substantial criminal adjudication. The archive therefore classifies the case as solved/adjudicated as to convicted participants while preserving the distinct legal outcomes of individual defendants.
Sources
Archive context
This case is included in the Morocco archive. It is separate from The 2003 Casablanca Bombings and The 2011 Marrakesh Argana Café Bombing.