Swiss man arrested over links to alleged killers of Scandinavian tourists in Morocco

Investigators claim he 'indoctrinated' group suspected of the murders

Moroccan authorities investigate the scene of the grisly murder of two Scandinavian women at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. (AP)

A Swiss national has been arrested in connection with the murders of two Scandinavian women hiking in Morocco.

The man, who has not been named, was allegedly associated with the killers and taught them archery and social media skills, according to the Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations (BCIJ).

He is the 20th suspect to be arrested by investigators following the discovery of the bodies of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, in the Atlas Mountains on 17 December.

The four main suspects reportedly pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video made three days earlier.

However police spokesman Boubker Sabik has described the killers as “lone wolves” and claimed “the crime was not coordinated with Islamic State”.

The latest suspect held both Swiss and Spanish nationality and was resident in Morocco.

He is also accused of “involvement in recruiting Moroccan and sub-Saharan nationals to carry out terrorist plots in Morocco against foreign targets and security forces in order to take hold of their service weapons”.

The remains of Ms Jespersen and Ms Ueland were found by French tourists in a tent at a campsite near Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains. They were reportedly on a month-long hiking trip.

Maren Ueland, 28, of Norway, (left) and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, of Denmark, were found dead in Morocco on 17 December 2018 (Facebook)

“I’m going to Morocco in December,” Ms Jespersen wrote on her Facebook page 21 November. “Any of you guys who’s around by then, or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?”

Despite producing a large contingent of Isis recruits, terrorist attacks are relatively rare in Morocco, a struggling kingdom of 36 million people dependent on remittances from immigrants in Western Europe, tourism, phosphate exports and European investment.

The area has had little militant activity since a 2011 bombing attack on a popular cafe killed 17 people.

Marrakesh recently hosted a number of high-profile conferences and hosted this month’s UN global summit on migration.

Additional reporting by Reuters