(supersedes previous)A Tunisian
suspect arrested earlier in the day was "ready to strike in
Italy", Carabinieri anti-terror police from the Special
Operations Unit (ROS) said Friday.
Khemiri Mohamed Kamel Edine, 41, is one of eight foreign
nationals arrested on suspicion of abetting illegal immigration
in the Campania town of San Marcellino.
Edine is also suspected of racketeering with intent to
commit terrorist acts and of spreading Internet propaganda for
the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) terror group, including a
manual with rules for the "solitary jihadist".
"He's a highly dangerous individual, because he's smart and
knows how to make people listen to him," said ROS General
Giuseppe Governale.
"He did not carry out concrete actions, but our
investigations have found evidence he could strike".
The suspect, whom some had nicknamed 'Bin Laden', lives in
an apartment above the local mosque where he works as a
factotum. Police say he is the ringleader of a group that
provided newly arrived migrants with fake labour contracts and
pay slips from compliant textile companies so they could get
residency permits in Italy, charging them 600 euros a pop.
He is known to enthusiastically hail Islamist terrorist
attacks such as a bloody January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo
satirical magazine in Paris with comments such as "justice has
been served".
He also wrote on his Facebook profile that "I'll be an ISIS
man as long as I live, and if I die I exhort you to join", with
a picture of the French flag being trampled, and shared a
so-called manual for lone wolf jihadists, which contains tips on
how to avoid security cameras at chosen attack sites.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
