Suspected Moroccan ISIS member arrested in Italy

A Moroccan-Italian national was arrested on Wednesday morning, March 28th, in Turin, said La Repubblica. He is suspected of being an ISIS member.

Identified as Elmahdi Halili, 23, accused of being the one behind translating into Italian a propaganda text issued by the terrorist organization. Several Italian converts to Islam and other foreign citizens are also involved in the same case. They are suspected of leading a radicalization campaign on social media.

Shortly after the death of Syrian fighter Abu Mohammed al-Adnani al-Shami, «ISIS’s spokesperson», on August 30th, 2016, Elmahdi Halili had created a page on social media where he published some messages of this man who was close to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Investigation began at the end of 2015, when Halili was found guilty by a court for inciting people to commit terrorist crimes. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

The Italian counterterrorism services also noticed that the young man was becoming increasingly radicalized. Investigators have seized images of fighters in Syria and Iraq, videos of civilian military executions and statement from the Paris and Brussels attacks.