He won his first international medal at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where he came third in the 5000 m. He was however later disqualified when it was proved that he had been 24 years old when he competed at that Junior Championships. The upper age limit for IAAF Junior World Championships is 19 years. At the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships he was fifteenth in the men's short race, helping Morocco to the team silver medal. He won the 10,000 metres gold medal at the 2001 Jeux de la Francophonie and then a bronze medal in the event at the 2001 Mediterranean Games. He did not compete at any major competitions in 2002 and upon his international return he was fifteenth again in the short race at the 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, this time taking the team bronze.