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TERRORISM

Isis-linked Norwegian woman denies charges in terror case

A woman on trial in Oslo has denied charges of supporting the Islamic State (Isis) terror group in Syria.

Isis-linked Norwegian woman denies charges in terror case
A file photo of the al-Hol camp in Syria. Photo: Delil SOULEIMAN/AFP

The 30-year-old woman’s trial is underway at the district court in Oslo. She answered “no” when the charges were read out to her on Monday, Norwegian media reported.

The trial, which is expected to take four weeks, has gained significant attention in Norway after the woman was returned to the country from the al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria. The woman, who has two children, was arrested after arriving at Oslo Airport.

One of her children was seriously ill when the family of three was returned to Oslo.

Disagreement over the decision to bring the woman and children back to Norway on humanitarian grounds resulted in the breakup of the former coalition government in January 2020.

The anti-immigration Progress Party stepped down from Erna Solberg’s government at the time, having criticized the decision, arguing that that the risk of allowing a person linked to Isis into Norway outweighs the country’s humanitarian duty to help the child.

READ ALSO: Populist party quits Norwegian government over jihadi spouse repatriation

The woman was born in Pakistan, first arrived in Norway as a child and grew up in Oslo.

She left an Isis-controlled area of eastern Syria in March 2019 and was subsequently accommodated at al-Hol.

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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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