At least six people – thought to be five Tunisians and a Moroccan – were arrested in raids carried out by 170 Italian police in and around the northern city Milan on Tuesday.
The detainees allegedly support the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, a militant Islamic organization waging war to overthrow the Algerian government. They are also accused of aiding illegal immigration and producing counterfeit documents. Some reports claim the cell is suspected of having ties to the Al-Qa’ida network.
The leader of the Milan cell, 34-year-old Essid Sami Bin Khemais, was sentenced last December to four and a half years in prison for producing counterfeit documents and involvement in illegal immigration. At the time of his arrest in April 2001, the man was thought by judges to be linked to Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qa’ida network, although terror charges against him were not pursued.
Tuesday’s raids were carried out by finance police, who targeted about 40 sites, including a mosque. A Muslim Imam [religious leader], Muhammad Al-Mahfouzi, was said to be among those detained. Mahfouzi, a 39-year-old Moroccan, allegedly forged papers to help allow foreigners into the country. Intercepted phone calls and other concrete checks have led Italy’s finance police to believe there were links and contacts between the cell and Ramzibin A-Shiba. A-Shiba was arrested in Karachi, Pakistan on September 14, 2002, and is considered the 20th kamikaze of the Twin Towers attack by the American authorities: the man that did not manage to get on board one of the planes that then crashed in Washington and New York. This according to the Italian news agency AGI.
A police source said the men were not themselves suspected of carrying out terror attacks. However, police are investigating whether they were running businesses as “fronts” to raise money for militants.
Just a week ago, the Islamic authorities in Italy sacked a religious Islamic leader of Rome’s Grand Mosque after he praised Palestinian suicide bombers. The 32-year-old Imam, Abdel-Sami Mahmoud Ibrahim Mousa, sparked controversy during last Friday’s traditional sermon when he called on Allah to “annihilate the enemies of Islam”.
His remarks are a “sin of youth”, Mario Scialoja, head of the Italian branch of the Muslim World League, told Reuters news agency.
Islam is Italy’s second religion.