A man who was prevented from looking at terrorist websites by the owners of an internet café in Casablanca blew himself up with explosives hidden on his body, a spokesman for the Moroccan Interior Ministry said today.

The man died and four others were injured in the blast last night, including the dead man’s companion, who was taken to hospital with burns and an injury to his throat.

Casablanca officials were treating the explosion as an accident, said Mokhtar Bekkali Kacemi, the general affairs director for Casablanca Province, quoted by the MAP state news agency. The men were “probably preparing to commit "a criminal act" later, Mr Kacemi said.

The dead man was identified as Abdelftah Raidi, who was convicted of having links to terrorism and sentenced to five years in prison before being pardoned in 2005, according to Abderrahman Achour, a government spokesman. His companion has been identified as Yusuf Khoudri.

The other three people injured in the explosion were the cybercafé owner’s son and two others, the official MAP news agency reported.

According to the agency, two men entered the cafe at 10 pm yesterday seeking access to terrorist sites. When the owner’s son forbade them from doing so, one of the men was blown up by explosives he was wearing, MAP reported, citing the Surete Nationale police.

The injured companion fled the café but was later arrested. He was taken to Mohamed V Hospital in Casablanca, the ministry spokesman said, adding that police questioning was limited due to the throat injury.

A series of near simultaneous suicide bombings that killed 45 people, including a dozen bombers, took place in Casablanca in 2003. Most of the bombers came from the Sidi Moumen slum.

Since then, this Muslim North African country has made hundreds of arrests and has been scouring the country for Islamic extremists.