Moroccans Mourn Slain Scandinavian Hikers

Moroccans have mourned two Scandinavian university students killed by suspected jihadists in the Atlas mountains.

Hundreds of people paid tribute on December 22 to Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland outside the embassies of their homelands in the capital Rabat.

Some held banners saying "Sorry" and condemned the killing.

The bodies of the two women were found last week after they had pitched their tent at an isolated mountain site.

One of them was reportedly beheaded.

Four suspects have been arrested in connection with their deaths.

The four suspects pledged allegiance to the extremist group Islamic State (IS) in a video made last week, Moroccan authorities said. In the video, they said the murders were revenge for events in Syria.

Nine other individuals have been arrested over suspected connections to the perpetrators.

Moroccan authorities have described the killings as a terrorist act.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters