Morocco bomb was 'set off at a distance'

THE terrorist bomb that claimed 16 lives, including British travel writer Peter Moss, when it exploded in a cafe in Marrakech was set off remotely, the Moroccan authorities said yesterday.

Initial findings suggested the blast was the work of a suicide bomber but yesterday it emerged that the bomb, which was packed with nails, was detonated from a distance.

The bomb exploded at lunchtime in Argana, a popular cafe on the main square, on Thursday. Most of the dead were foreigners, among them French, Dutch and Canadian tourists. More than 20 people were injured.

Moss, a London-based writer, broadcaster and comedian, was the only Briton to die. He is understood to have been divorced, with two grown-up children, and was working in Marrakech at the time of the attack.

Yesterday the British ambassador Tim Morris travelled to Marrakech to assist the team dealing with the aftermath.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said: "My thoughts are with their friends and families and all those affected by this distressing incident. We are in touch with next of kin and are offering them full consular support."

"An act of this kind, causing the death of 16 innocent people, is cruel and wrong, and I condemn it in the strongest terms."

He said an FCO rapid deployment team had arrived in Marrakech and was working with the authorities.