Brescia – the antiterrorist unit has arrested a 20 year old Moroccan, in whose possession were found maps of the central synagogue area in Milan and records of the security arrangements on the site. In the Facebook page he had opened he talked about “a Jihad mission”.
The Italian police arrested this morning (Thursday) a Moroccan suspected of planning a number of terrorist attacks, among them an attack of the synagogue in Milan. The Italian authorities announced that in parallel, a woman suspected of being in touch with the youngster had been arrested in London. The country’s media channels reported that an investigation of the matter was being conducted in the U.S. as well.
According to the police statement, the 20 year old Moroccan youngster has been living in Brescia, east of Milan, since he was 6 years old. The Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” has described him as a “computer expert”. The police have found a document in the suspect’s personal computer, in which there are maps of the area surrounding the central synagogue in the heart of Milan, along with records of the security arrangements on the site, including possible escape routes.
He was apprehended by the antiterrorist combat unit of the Italian police that had followed sites that were engaged with Jihad. The investigators found a message of his in the site, in which he talked about “a Jihad mission”. The suspect had also created a closed group on Facebook that was dedicated to training in the use of weapons and explosives. The members of the closed group he had established shared between them information regarding the preparation of bombs out of household-chemicals. In the “rules” of the Facebook group he had established was written: “No videos of religious songs, only weapons”.
