Murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland

On 17 December 2018, the bodies of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, a 24-year-old Danish woman, and Maren Ueland, a 28-year-old Norwegian woman, were found decapitated in the foothills of Mount Toubkal near to the village of Imlil in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

A total of 18 men were arrested by Moroccan Police in relation to the murders. The murders were described by the Moroccan general prosecutor as a terrorist act, after a video released on the Internet showed several of the suspects swearing allegiance to the Islamic State while decapitating Jespersen. Initially, detectives believed the crimes were sexually motivated, with witnesses and CCTV indicating the suspects followed the women. They were also camped 600 meters from the women.

Since then the three assailants and a fourth conspirator have been sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of Morocco. These are the first death sentences handed out by Morocco since 1993. The executions are due to be completed within 30 years. As of 2026, two of the four members of the cell sentenced to death committed suicide while in prison.