An al-Qaeda-linked network, believed to have been planning assassinations and other attacks in Morocco, has been broken up by security forces, the kingdom's government said.

Security forces have arrested 24 people suspected of involvement with the network in recent days, the Moroccan interior ministry said on Monday.

The group "were preparing to carry out assassinations and acts of sabotage within the country, notably targeting the security services and foreign interests in Morocco", the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency, Map.

The arrests came after some members of the alleged cell assaulted a police officer in the city of Casablanca, Morocco's economic capital.

The suspects were found in possession of a pistol and ammunition that they had allegedly taken after attacking the officer, the ministry said.

Enlisting recruits

The suspects are also accused of recruiting Moroccan citizens to send to conflicts in locations including Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, the ministry said, citing details from an inquiry led by a prosecutor.

Other recruits were to join fighters in the Sahara and Sahel desert regions, where an al-Qaeda offshoot known as al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb has been increasingly active in recent months.

The group roams the border region of Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Morocco.

The network includes four former detainees convicted of terrorism-related charges in the country, it said. It did not provide details on the other suspects.

Security services have reported the arrest of 30 suspected "terrorists" since March 2, including those announced on Monday.

Moroccan authorities carried out mass arrests after five suicide bombings in Casablanca in May 2003 in which 45 people were killed.