Italian Authorities Note Growing Number of Jihadists in Lombardy Region

On Thursday, April 28, 2016, Italian authorities arrested four suspected Islamic State (IS) members during anti-terror raids in northern Italy. Intercepted intelligence led authorities to the location of one the suspects who had received instructions to carry out attacks Italy and with a particular focus directed against Rome.  Recent arrests have pointed to a disturbing trend of jihadists residing and operating out of the Lombardy region, one of the more heavily Muslim populated areas of Italy.

Italian authorities had issued six arrest warrants and successfully captured four suspects, all in the Lombardy region.

Abderrahim Moutahrrick, of Moroccan descent, reportedly received direct communications from Islamic State was arrested along with his wife Selma Bencharki. The two were allegedly planning on travelling to IS territory, together with their two young children.

Another Moroccan suspect identified as Abderrahmane Khachia was arrested in Varese, Italy. He had planned on traveling to Syria with Moutahrrick and Bencharki to become a an IS fighter. In January 2015, Khachia’s brother was expelled from Italy on international terrorism charges and later killed while fighting for IS.

Two arrest warrants are still issued for Mohamed Koraichi and his wife, both of whom left Italy to fight for IS last year with their three small children. Italian prosecutor Maurizio Romanelli says there is evidence that suggests Koraichi was the one in communication with Moutahrrick about conducting attacks in Italy. The last person arrested was Koraichi’s sister who put her brother in contact with the other IS suspects.

Romanelli noted the intercepted intelligence called for lone wolf attacks by foreign terrorist fighters (FTF). Despite the arrests, Italian law enforcement insisted there was no immediate terror threat to the region.

On March 27, 2016, Italian authorities arrested a Moroccan who was believed to have made documents for the Brussels bombers.  On April 5, 2016, Italian and German authorities in a joint anti-terror raid arrested five men in Milan connected to Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network. Milan prosecutor Stefano Dumbruso said the five men had connections to other terror groups in France, Germany, Belgium, and Britain.

The Lombardy region remains tense, with the institution of a number of measures including banning veils and/or burkas following the Paris attacks. Lombardy’s regional legislature passed a  law restricting mosque building based on zoning regulations that was later overturned by Italy’s constitutional courts. A2015 census found there are 1.6 million Muslims living in Italy and 26.5% or about 400,000 live in the Lombardy region.  Lombardy Governor Roberto Maroni is a leader of the euro-skeptic Northern League which opposes large scale Islamic immigration to the region. In the wake of 9/11 the Northern League called for the closures of mosques and Italian borders to Muslim migrants.

It’s not clear that the Lombardy region yet represents the same kind of hotbed for jihadist activity as seen in areas such as Molenbeek in Brussels, but recent arrests raise concerns that Islamic State and Al Qaeda supporters can successfully conceal themselves among the wider Islamic population in the region.