Suspects arrested in northern Italy on terrorism charges wanted to strike the Vatican and the Israeli Embassy in Rome, according to Italian prosecutors.
Police on Thursday arrested four people, all born in Morocco but long-term residents in Italy.
They included a Moroccan-born Italian citizen identified as a kick-boxer named Abderrahim Moutahrrick, 24, and his wife, Salma Bencharki. Police say the couple had planned to travel soon to Islamic State-held territory in Syria with their two young children.
Warrants also were issued for two other suspects, a Moroccan-born man identified as Mohamed Koraichi and his Italian wife, who are believed to have left Italy last year with their children for Islamic State territory, where Koraichi became an Islamic State fighter.
Moutahrrick is quoted in transcripts of conversations in February and March as saying he wanted to attack the Vatican and also “to hit” the Israeli Embassy in Rome, and that he had contacted an Albanian to procure a gun.
— JTA
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
