Italy: Terrorist network linked to Charlie Hebdo attack dismantled

In Italy a major counter-terrorism operation was carried out which led to the dismantling of a network terroristswhich is related to a recent attack outside the offices of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

According to Agence France-Presse, the operation, coordinated by the Genoa prosecutor’s office in northern Italy and headed by the anti-mafia and anti-terrorism service, resulted in the “arrest of Pakistani citizens”, police said. issuance of 14 arrest warrants. The members of this network, “all suspected of setting up a criminal organization aimed at international terrorism”, “are directly linked to Zahir Hassan Mahmoud”.

In fact, the last one had stabbed a man and a woman in front of the former Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris on September 25, 2020, thinking that he was working for the magazine, which, however, had moved after the deadly attack of jihadists whose was targeted in January 2015. The attack took place during the trial for the January 2015 attack on the newspaper, which had republished sketches of the Prophet Muhammad.

The operation coordinated by Europol also involved the counter-terrorism services of Spain and France under the coordination of the European Counter-Terrorism Center of Europol, the Italian police clarified.

“The investigation revealed the active presence, in several Italian provinces and in some European countries, of a terrorist cell formed by a large group of young Pakistanis, who were all direct contacts of the perpetrator of the attack on Charlie Hebdo,” Italian police added. .

Source: News Beast

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