9 more people arrested in Morocco tourist beheadings

Four are suspected of killing 28-year-old Maren Ueland of Norway and 24-year-old Louisa Jespersen of Denmark.

Nine others were arrested in different cities for their alleged connection to the four murder suspects, 2M reported Friday.

During the raids, authorities found "suspicious substances that could potentially be used in making explosives," 2M said.

The bodies of Ueland and Jespersen were found last Monday in the High Atlas mountain range.

Two European tourists beheaded in Morocco

Both women had been spotted with three men in their hotel in Marrakesh before heading to the Atlas mountains to hike. They were found in Imlil, an unguarded and remote area on the mountain range.

The Moroccan Press Agency reported that the pair had been killed with a "melee weapon."

A video purporting to show the killings is being analyzed by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, the agency told CNN. The video's authenticity has not been verified.

The Moroccan government has called the killings a "terrorist and criminal act," and Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the killings seemed to be "politically motived and thus a terrorist act."

Moroccans gathered to mourn the tourists' deaths outside the Norwegian and Danish embassies in Rabat, the capital city. Hundreds of people held vigils in memory of the two Scandinavian women, with some holding signs saying "Pardon" or "Sorry" in English.

Moroccans gathered outside the Danish Embassy in Rabat on Saturday.

Denmark's ambassador to Norway, Nikolaj Harris thanked the demonstrators Saturday "with all my heart for your messages of compassion ... after the murder of Louisa. I am very touched."

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