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TERRORISM

Turkish terror suspect ‘a member of the PKK’

A Turkish citizen arrested at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport on Friday on terror charges is thought to be a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Belgian prosecutors said on Monday.

The arrest of the man at the Stockholm airport was linked to a dragnet launched in March which targeted PKK activities in Belgium, said Leen Nuyts, a spokesperson for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office.

The man, who is wanted by Belgian authorities, is “suspected of being a member of a terrorist organisation,” Nuyts told AFP. His identity has not been revealed.

Eight people were arrested in Belgium on March 4th and charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Six were released conditionally on March 25 while two were kept in detention.

Around 300 Belgian police officers conducted 28 searches to dismantle a network that was recruiting young volunteers to join the PKK, listed as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States.

Belgian authorities issued a European arrest warrant for the man who was arrested in the Swedish capital on Friday after he was not found in the March raids, Nuyt said.

The man was arrested on terrorism, kidnapping and hostage-taking charges, Swedish prosecutor Ronnie Jacobsson told the Aftonbladet daily on Saturday.

Belgium has made an extradition request, which is being review by Swedish authorities.

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TERRORISM

Italian police arrest Algerian wanted for alleged IS ties

Police in Milan said on Thursday they had arrested a 37-year-old Algerian man in the subway, later discovering he was wanted for alleged ties to Islamic State.

Italian police arrest Algerian wanted for alleged IS ties

When stopped by police officers for a routine check, the man became “particularly aggressive”, said police in Milan, who added the arrest took place “in recent days”.

He was “repeatedly shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while attempting to grab from his backpack an object that turned out to be a knife with a blade more than 12cm (nearly five inches) long,” they said in a statement.

The man was later found to be wanted by authorities in Algeria, suspected since 2015 of belonging to “Islamic State militias and employed in the Syrian-Iraqi theatre of war,” police said.

Police said the suspect was unknown to Italian authorities.

The man is currently in Milan’s San Vittore prison and awaiting extradition, they added.

Jihadist group IS proclaimed a “caliphate” in 2014 across swathes of Syria and Iraq, launching a reign of terror that continues with hit-and-run attacks and ambushes.

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