Three men have been arrested following the murder of two Scandinavian backpackers in Morocco.

Louisa Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, were on a month-long trip across North Africa together and had sent up camp in the High Atlas mountain range about 10km from the village of Imlil, a popular trekking spot.

Their bodies were discovered on December 18. The women had been attacked in their tent, allegedly decapitated, although this has not been verified, Morocco World News reports.

Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway. (Facebook)

One of the women was found inside the tent, the other outside.

Police made the arrests after watching CCTV footage from a shop in the village and finding an ID card at the camp

"The suspects were camping in the same area that the murder took place," a source told the publication. "Witnesses saw the group at night as they were heading to the camp area."

Louisa Jespersen, 24, from Denmark. (Facebook)

A police source told Morocco World News the murder investigation has excluded robbery as the motive because none of the victims’ belongings were missing.

Reuters reports that one of the men suspected in the killings belongs to a militant group, according to a prosecutor, however they haven't identified the group.

The man was arrested in Marrakech, Morocco’s main tourist hub, and police are hunting additional suspects.

"We are working to bring before justice three other suspects on the run," police spokesman Boubker Sabik told the news service.

Morocco's public TV channel 2M has claimed on its website that footage of the slaying shows it was militant-related, with reports a video of the killings is on YouTube.

Suspects have been arrested over the murders. (Facebook)

Ueland's mother has spoken out about her daughter, saying she was "warm and engaged".

"Her first priority was safety," she told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. "The girls had taken all the precautionary measures before embarking on this trip."

Both girls were students of "outdoor activities and cultural guidance" at the University of Southeastern Norway.

Norwegian Foreign Ministry press officer Ane Lunde told NRK they are "aware that a Norwegian citizen is reported dead in Morocco".

"We are now working through our embassy in Rabat to map the situation and find out what has happened," they continued. "In doing this, we are upholding contact with Moroccan authorities."