A file photo shows police officers look as inmates stage a protest against new rules to cope with coronavirus emergency, on the roof of the San Vittore prison in Milan, Italy, March 9, 2020. (AP)

Terrorism

Italy jails suspected al-Qaeda militant for terror activity in Syria, Iraq

Italy

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Reuters

Published: 20 January ,2021: 04:38 PM GST Updated: 20 January ,2021: 05:19 PM GST

A 24-year-old Italian suspected of fighting in the Middle East since 2014 with al-Qaeda-affiliated groups was arrested in Turkey and jailed in Italy, police said on Wednesday.

The unnamed man, who had lived with his wife and their four children near the Syrian city of Idlib, agreed to hand himself over after being tracked down on accusations of terrorist activity in Syria and Iraq, police told a news conference.

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“We managed to find him and bring him back to Italy ... we were also able to get his wife and children out of a crisis area,” said Italy’s anti-terrorism agency chief Diego Parente.

The man was transferred to the Turkish province of Hatay and then on to jail in Italy, while his family remain in Turkey. The hunt began on information from his parents in Switzerland, where he had lived and was radicalized, police said.

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