Jihad, what lies behind the arrests in Italy

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo writes about the recent events that lead to the arrest of four people in the Italian city of Lecco, accused of plotting a terror attack in Italy. Two of the four individuals had direct ties to the Islamic State.

The arrested individuals were all of Moroccan origin and were linked to people from the Balkans, Germany and Italy, all of whom at some point had passed through Syria.

Colombo points out how that the different nationalities of the individuals linked to the Islamic State demonstrates that it is indeed difficult for Europe to cope with such a broad and spread-out phenomenon, which corresponds to the global outreach the Islamic State is aiming to have. It is also important to point out, continues Colombo, the call that Al- Qaeda has made to the Islamic State to join forces; if this were the case, the jihadist axis would gain considerable strength not only in the Middle East but also in Europe.

This article is in Italian and can be read here.