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TERRORISM

Detained imam ‘planned terror attack at Rome’s main station’

UPDATED: A 22-year-old man arrested in the central Molise region on Wednesday was allegedly planning a terror attack at Rome’s main train station, Termini.

Published: 10 March 2016 09:58 CET
Updated: 10 March 2016 12:00 CET
Detained imam 'planned terror attack at Rome’s main station'
The imam was allegedly planning an attack in Rome, with a train station being a possible target. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

The imam and asylum seeker, from Somalia, was detained at a refugee centre near the city of Campobasso after a two-month investigation during which he was recorded saying “let’s start from Italy, let’s go to Rome and start with the station”.

He was also heard saying that “Charlie Hebdo was just the beginning, the war continues”, Corriere reported.

Investigators believe he was planning to leave the refugee centre in Campomarino on Wednesday and head to Rome.

The man is said to have supported the Isis extremist group and tried to encourage migrants staying at the centre in Campomarino to join the jihadist cause.

Police said the imam, who also praised the November 13th Paris attacks, held services in the centre, but that some worshippers walked out after being alarmed by his preaching.

Police used phone tapping and hidden cameras during their two-month investigation. The camera showed the man watching videos of terrorist attacks, police said.

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.

Published: 9 November 2023 15:18 CET
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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