Italy breaks up European terror cell

[Vito]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071106/ap_on_re_eu/italy_terrorism

By COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press Writer
Tue Nov 6, 12:23 PM ET

MILAN, Italy - A Europe-wide sweep disrupted an Islamic cell that was recruiting potential suicide bombers for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, Italian police said Tuesday, announcing the arrests of 20 terror suspects.

Police said the suspects, mostly Tunisians, were arrested across Europe as part of the sweep against a cell based in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.

Executing the arrest warrants, police said they found al-Qaida manuals for making explosives, detonation devices and poisons, and instructions on guerrilla techniques.

"The investigation has revealed recruitment, training and passage to aspiring terrorists to Iraq and Afghanistan," lead investigator Gen. Giampaolo Ganzer, of Italy's paramilitary Carabinieri police, told a news conference.

The suspects were wanted on charges ranging from association with the aim of committing international terrorism to falsifying documents to aid illegal immigrants.

"Once more, the central role of Milan and Lombardy in the panorama of Islamic militants has been confirmed," the Carabinieri said in a statement.

The group's members had been indoctrinated in militancy in mosques since at least 1998, according to police transcripts, and appeared to take serious precautions.

In one intercepted call, a suspected cell member said that "things are being done with extreme calm, haste does not bring the desired results."

Eleven were arrested in the northern Italian cities of Milan, Reggio Emilia, Imperia and Bergamo. Nine others were arrested on warrants issued in France, Britain and Portugal, Italian news agencies reported.

Authorities in Britain, France and Portugal confirmed arrests.

The Lombardy cell had ties with a group in neighboring Emilia Romagna whose aim is to establish an Islamic state extending from Morocco to China, Italian investigators said. Intercepted phone calls made clear the aim of sending jihadist fighters to Iraq via Syria, including specific instructions on shaving off beards before departure to give the impression of making a "peaceful trip."

Ganzer said that while the main aim of the group were attacks aimed at western targets in Iraq and Afghanistan, they also had ties to groups that planned attacks in Italy. Police said the Milan-based cell helped a Tunisian involved in planning a failed attack in Bologna flee to France in 2006. The attack was meant to be carried out around Italy's national elections in April 2006, police said.

Giuliano Amato, Italy's interior minister, said the suspects are mostly Tunisian. He praised the sting as an example of strong cooperation among European countries.

In Britain, authorities said two suspects were arrested in London and Manchester and face extradition to Italy. The men, identified as Ali Chehidi, 34, and Mohamed Khermiri, 53, were accused of forging documents to help volunteers enter Italy illegally.

Portuguese police said they arrested a North African in the northern Portuguese city of Porto on suspicion of international terrorism, illegal immigration and smuggling. He had been in Portugal for three years and had a Portuguese residence permit allowing travel within Europe's Schengen area.

[Ambiorix]

I read a few very good comments on Jihadwatch:

Islam stole all of its early “greatness” from the Persians and Greeks …. This much is very well documented. The “greatness” was the ability of the Caliphate to assimilate new technologies and ideas. The big conundrum occurred when the reality of science and philosophy started to fly in the face of Islamic scripture. Who won the war of hearts and minds? Was it the rationalists, or the literalists? The hearts and minds were won by the literalists. Since then the Islamic world has squandered whatever advantages its early conquests made available to it. All that is left of its assimilative power is the conquest and subjugation of other people. Now this does not mean that the powers that be within Islam are stupid. They are cunning; in fact they know that the last and only shot at conquering the west is now within several generations. The big irony here is that the one thing that made our culture technologically superior was the prevailing of rationality in thought related to science, art, and philosophy, but also in some regards lead us away from the older wisdom of the Church. This lead to obvious lifestyle changes that has made us vulnerable to a conquest of this type, so what remains to be seen is, was the advantage gained by the triumph of reason which lead to the Renaissance, and the Industrial Revolution that gave us our technological superiority a short term advantage, or a long them disadvantage. Less than 600 years ago Islam had just conquered Constantinople. It was awash in wealth a technological advancement from its victories. Forces in the Islamic world remember this. They know and see well the wealth of a whole new civilization that is within their grasp. Now it is poised to do it all over again, but this time in Western Europe. The invasion phase is over, now the colonization phase has begun. Seems we are waking up in time, but what will we do about it? the rest is all a side show.

Posted by: ethoman  at November 6, 2007 4:29 PM