Judge says 10 jihadists to stay in jail

(ANSA) -Trento, November 26 - An Italian judge has signed an order to keep in prison 10 alleged jihadists who are implicated in the police investigations that busted an international terrorism ring on Nov. 12.
    The 10 suspects include Faraj Ahmad Najmuddin, alias Mullah Krekar, who is alleged to have been the ideological and strategic leader of the group while he was in a Norwegian jail, according to investigative sources.
    Abdul Rahman Nauroz, another suspect, is accused of being the head of a jihadist cell in Merano, in Alto Adige.
    Following an investigation by Italian police, forces launched raids across Europe on Nov. 12, arresting 17 people a day before the terror attacks in Paris. The operation was conducted with the help of the authorities in Britain, Norway, Finland, Germany and Switzerland.
    The preliminary judge has accused the suspects of wanting to replace the elected government in Kurdistan with a caliphate, or Islamic government, and of aiming to achieve this goal by launching terror attacks in Europe.
    The judge's decision confirmed a request by Trento prosecutors to keep the 10 suspects in prison. It follows the release of the seven other people who were also originally caught up in the investigation.
    The 10 suspects are to remain in prison due to the "extreme danger" posed by the group, the judge said.
    photo: Mullah Krekar