A Moroccan man has been arrested in Italy over
the Tunisia museum massacre that left 21 tourists dead after fleeing across the
Mediterranean on a migrant boat.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the
March attack on the Bardo Museum in the capital Tunis which also killed British
mother Sally Adey.
Abdel Majid Touil, 22, was arrested at the house
where he lives with his mother and brothers in Gaggiano, near Milan last night.
The accusations listed in the Tunisian arrest
warrant include premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit attacks against the
internal security of the state, belonging to a terrorist group and recruiting
and training others to commit terrorist attacks, police said.
He arrived in Porto Empedocle in Sicily on a
migrant boat on February 17 using the alias Abdullah, but
received an expulsion order demanding he leave Italy within 15 days
From that moment, he disappeared before
re-emerging in Tunisia where the authorities maintain he was personally
involved in both the planning and the execution of the attacks. The
Tunisians claim that he was also involved in recruiting jihadists. He then reappeared in Italy.
Police were able to identify him in part after
his mother reported that her son's passport was missing immediately after the
Bardo attack.
Bruno Megale of the anti-terrorism Digos police
said: 'He did not appear to frequent mosques close to fundamentalism in Italy
and was unknown to us apart from the deportation order before the intelligence
came from the Tunisian authorities.
Extradition procedures will now begin, it is
understood, but Tunisia could face difficulties because the death penalty could
be imposed for the crimes of which he is accused.
The
news follows warning by Libyan authorities that ISIS militias in Libya are
using migrant boats to smuggle jihadists into Europe.
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