Video of backpackers ‘executed by terrorists’ in Morocco shared on social media

Moroccan police are investigating a video which reportedly shows the brutal murder of a Scandinavian backpacker.

Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, were discovered with cuts to their neck in the tourist village of Imlil.

The women were found in an isolated area on the way to North Africa’s highest peak of Toubkal, officials said.

Horrific footage of one of the killings has been widely shared on social media in the country, according to reports.

Police are now attempting to verify whether the video is real.

One Twitter user claimed that a man in the video says: "This is revenge for our brothers in Haji in Syria (recently bombarded by the coalition)".

As well as: "Here are your enemy heads of God".

Investigators say terrorism was a motive behind their deaths and say one suspect belonged to a militant group.

One man has been arrested and police are hunting three others in connection with the incident after releasing their photographs to the public.

The man, thought to be Moroccan, was arrested Marrakesh.

He was being held in custody "to determine the motive of the crime while investigations continue to arrest other individuals who have been identified and suspected of taking part in criminal acts", the central bureau of judicial investigation in Morocco said in a statement.

No organisation or group has come forward to claim the murders.

One of the murders was apparently filmed on a mobile phone and then widely circulated on social media, prompting outrage in the country.

The interior ministry said the women’s bodies had been found with "signs of violence on their necks" that had been "caused by a cutting device".

Louisa’s mum Helle Jespersen has told local media the family is completely "broken".

She said: "She was always happy and positive," adding that her daughter saw the best in everyone.

The mum said she hopes investigators find the ‘culprit’, but admitted she is not hopeful.

Helle spoke of the moment she was told about her daughter’s death by police who turned up at her door.

"When I went out and saw that there were two officers, I knew what had happened. I broke down," she said.

A post dated November 21 on Louisa’s Facebook page reads: "Dear friends, I’m going to Morocco in December.

"Any of you guys who is around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal? (sic)."

Both women had been studying ‘outdoor activities and cultural guidance’ at a college in the village of Bo, in Telemark, Norway.

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