World | Other World Stories

Italy arrests five North Africans in anti-terrorism swoop

Italian police have arrested four Tunisians and a Moroccan on suspicion of recruiting Islamic fighters for Iraq and Afghanistan and are looking for a sixth man, also from Tunisia, they said on Saturday.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 17:55 August 9, 2008
  • Gulf News

Rome: Italian police have arrested four Tunisians and a Moroccan on suspicion of recruiting Islamic fighters for Iraq and Afghanistan and are looking for a sixth man, also from Tunisia, they said on Saturday.

They made the arrests in dawn raids in the Bologna, Ravenna and Como areas, said police in the university town of Bologna.

All six "are accused of criminal association with the aim of international terrorism, and two of them also of serious fraud to fund terrorism", Vincenzo Ciarambino of the Bologna crime squad said.

Police said the leader of the group was a veteran of the independence struggle in Bosnia, where many Africans fought alongside Bosnian Muslims.

The group is suspected of recruiting North Africans in Italy and sending them for training in Bosnia to fight against US and other coalition troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

More from World

Gulf News
Popular in World

More from world

News Editor's choice