Italy "terror school" imam had bomb chemicals-police
Sun 22 Jul 2007, 12:32 GMT

http://africa.reuters.com/country/MA/news/usnL22223645.html

By Robin Pomeroy

ROME, July 22 (Reuters) - A Moroccan imam arrested in Italy and suspected of running a "terrorism school" in his mosque had a variety of toxic chemicals at his home which could have been used to make explosives, police said on Sunday.

The imam was arrested in a dawn swoop on Saturday along with two assistants who worked in the mosque at Ponte Felcino, near the central Italian city of Perugia. Police seized films and Internet files they said were used for combat training.

At the house of the imam, identified as Korchi El Mustapha, police said they found "dozens of bottles" inside three barrels containing a variety of chemicals "with which, when combined and mixed with other easily available products, it would be possible to make improvised explosives."

The arrests shocked Italy which, unlike Britain and Spain, has not experienced attacks by Islamic extremists, and Sunday newspapers carried headlines like "Al Qaeda school in Perugia" and "Terrorists ready to strike".

Police, who searched 23 addresses in the area, said the mosque was being used to recruit and train international terrorists.

The imam of Perugia, Abdel Qader, told the Rome daily Il Messaggero that he condemned anyone who preached violence and that the 10,000 Muslims living peacefully in the city were "a concrete example of successful cohabitation".

Qader said he had met the arrested imam and had no reason to suspect him of militancy, but did not know him well. "Perhaps sometimes he polemicised about international affairs, but you know how words can fly," he said.

The head of Perugia's Muslim community said he hoped there would not be a backlash against the faith, though this has already started in some quarters.

Roberto Calderoli, an opposition member of Italy's upper house for the anti-immigration Northern League, said all Italy's mosques should be closed and allowed to reopen only after they had been checked for illegal activity.

"As we don't know where's the baby and where's the bathwater, the only thing to do is to close all the mosques and reopen them only after accurate inquiries and checks," he said. (Additional reporting by Massimiliano Di Giorgio)

Italian police have arrested three Moroccans they suspect of running a "terrorist school" at a mosque, using it to recruit and train fighters for attacks abroad.

"We found, and put out of service, what was a genuine 'terrorist school'," said Carlo de Stefano, head of a special investigations branch of the Italian police.

Police arrested Korchi el Mustapha, the imam from the mosque in Ponte Felcino near the central Italian city of Perugia, and his two assistants, Mohammed el Jari, 47, and Driss Safika, 46, who were accused of using the mosque as a training camp for international terrorism.

Materials seized included films and internet downloads including instructions on how to fly a Boeing 747.

"The investigations documented how the suspects ... were undertaking detailed and in-depth instruction and training in the use of weapons and combat techniques suitable for terrorist acts," the police said in a statement.

The interior ministry said a fourth Moroccan they sought was being held in a prison in an unidentified foreign country.

Among the internet files were instructions on handling poisons, explosives and sending encrypted messages via computer. Police said there were also "instructions aimed at aspiring mujahideen to get safely to conflict zones".

Giuliano Amato, the interior minister, said the police operation had thwarted "very concrete risks" and that the possible use of a mosque was a serious concern.

"This shows the necessity to pay close attention to a place which should only be used for religious activity," he said in a statement.

Bomb scare

Elsehwere, an Alitalia flight, that was preparing to leave the Rome's main airport for London, was evacuated on Saturday after officials received an anonymous phone call announcing there was a bomb on the plane.

Police later said it was a false alarm.

The 165 passengers were evacuated and baggage was unloaded, as bomb-squad officers using sniffer dogs verified there were no explosive devices aboard, police at the capital's Fiumicino airport said.

Police were alerted at 1.15 pm (1115GMT), just 20 minutes before the flight was due to leave. The plane took off later on Saturday, with a four and a half hour delay.

http://mwcnews.net/content/view/15592/0/

ROME, Italy (AP) -- Police on Saturday arrested three Moroccans and accused them of running a "terror school" at a small mosque in central Italy, where they allegedly trained for combat, learned about bombs and stashed away chemicals.

Italian anti-terror police said they found barrels of chemicals and instructions on how to pilot a Boeing 747 in the Ponte Felcino mosque on the outskirts of Perugia. A fourth suspect was being sought.

"The investigation has shown that, in the Ponte Felcino mosque, there was a continued training for terrorist activity," anti-terror police head Carlo De Stefano said. "We have discovered and neutralized a real 'terror school,' which was part of a widespread terrorism system made up of small cells that act on their own."

Police identified the suspects as 41-year-old imam Korchi El Mostapha and his aides Mohamed El Jari, 47, and Driss Safika, 46. A fourth Moroccan suspect was believed to be abroad. All four were suspected of conducting training with the aim of international terrorism.

Police also said in a statement that the suspects had contacts with two members of the Moroccan Islamic Combat group arrested about two years ago in Belgium. The Islamic group -- known by its French acronym, GICM -- is believed to have ties to al Qaeda and has been linked to the 2004 Madrid train bombings and 2003 attacks in Casablanca, Morocco.

It was not immediately clear if the defendants had retained attorneys.

The modest mosque, on the ground floor of a red-painted residential building, hid chemicals, including acids, nitrates and ferrocyanide, which may have been used to experiment in making bombs or poisons, said Claudio Galzerano, head of the international terrorism division within the anti-terror police.

Activities at the mosque used films and documents downloaded from the Internet, and included weapons training, instructions on how to prepare poisons and explosives, as well as how to lay an ambush, reach combat zones safely and send encrypted messages, a police statement said.

Galzerano told The Associated Press that the cell was involved only in training activities, and that no one was accused of preparing or carrying out attacks.

Twenty other people who frequented the mosque were placed under investigation for various charges, including violating Italy's immigration laws, Galzerano said.

The arrests followed a two-year investigation in the city, which attracts many tourists roaming its Medieval and Renaissance palaces. It also has many immigrants working in local industries.

The imam at the larger central mosque in Perugia said the Ponte Felcino group did not appear dangerous, Italian news agency ANSA reported. The news agency said Perugia's Muslim community is estimated at 10,000 in a city of about 150,000.

"Generally, it's a quiet community. A few made some noise over the international situation, but those were just words," the imam, Abdel Qader, told ANSA. "We trust justice. Everything will be verified, and if any (of the suspects) has made a mistake he will have to pay."

Between daily prayers, the small mosque doubled as a training camp, the police statement said. The imam held courses, showed propaganda messages and made fiery sermons inciting a small group of disciples, some of them children, to wage holy war, police said.

In recent years, Italy has tightened its anti-terrorism laws and stepped up surveillance at mosques and Islamic centers.
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Authorities have kept a close eye on what they say are extremist clerics, having some expelled or arrested and put on trial, though several cases have ended in acquittals. In May, a court cleared a former imam in the northern town of Varese and two other Moroccans accused of raising money and recruiting extremists for the GICM.

In a statement praising Saturday's arrests, Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said the Perugia case "confirms the need to always maintain high surveillance in locations where only religious activities should take place."

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/07/21/italy.terrorism.ap/

ROME — Operating in a nondescript mosque in Perugia, the central hill town known for its Renaissance architecture and idyllic countryside, a small extremist cell allegedly ran what Italian police say was a "terror school" that trained in hand-to-hand combat, bomb making and airplane piloting.

Anti-terrorism police said they arrested three Moroccans — an imam and two of his aides — on Saturday and raided the Ponte Felcino mosque on the outskirts of the Umbrian capital, finding barrels of chemicals hidden in the cellar, and documents including instructions on how to pilot a Boeing 747.

"The investigation has shown that, in the Ponte Felcino mosque, there was a continued training for terrorist activity," anti-terror police head Carlo De Stefano said. "We have discovered and neutralized a real 'terror school,' which was part of a widespread terrorism system made up of small cells that act on their own."

The modest mosque, on the ground floor of a red-painted residential building, hid chemical substances, including acids, nitrates and ferrocyanide, which may have been used to experiment during the courses, said Claudio Galzerano, head of the international terrorism division with the anti-terror police.

Activities at the mosque used films and documents downloaded from the Internet, and included weapons training, instructions on how to prepare poisons and explosives, as well as how to lay an ambush, reach combat zones safely and send encrypted messages, police said in a statement.

Police identified the imam as 41-year-old Korchi El Mostapha and his two aides as Mohamed El Jari, 47, and Driss Safika, 46, while a fourth Moroccan suspect was still being sought and was believed to be abroad. All four are suspected of conducting training with the aim of international terrorism.

Another 20 people who frequented the mosque were placed under investigation for various charges, including violating Italy's immigration laws, Galzerano said.

The arrests followed a two-year investigation in the small city, which has a large non-Italian population, including tourists roaming Medieval and Renaissance palaces, students at the local foreigners' university and immigrants working in local industry.

The imam at the central mosque in Perugia, which has a 10,000-strong Muslim community, said the Ponte Felcino group did not appear dangerous, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

"Generally it's a quiet community. A few made some noise over the international situation, but those were just words," the imam, Abdel Qader, told ANSA. "We trust justice. Everything will be verified, and if any (of the suspects) has made a mistake he will have to pay."

Between daily prayers, the small mosque doubled as a training camp, the police statement said. The imam held courses, showed propaganda messages and made fiery sermons inciting a small group of disciples, some of them children, to join the Holy War, it said.

Galzerano, the top anti-terror official, told The Associated Press that the cell was involved only in training activities, and that no one was accused of preparing or carrying out attacks.

The police statement said the cell had contacts with two members of the Moroccan Islamic Combat group arrested around two years ago in Belgium.

The Islamic group — known by its French acronym, GICM — is believed to have ties to Al Qaeda and has been linked to the 2004 Madrid bombings and 2003 attacks in Casablanca.

In recent years Italy has tightened its anti-terrorism laws and stepped up surveillance at mosques and Islamic centers.

Authorities have kept a close eye on what they say are extremist clerics, having some expelled or arrested and put on trial, but several cases have ended in acquittals. In May, a court cleared the former imam of the northern town of Varese and two other Moroccans accused of raising money and recruiting extremists for the GICM.

In a statement praising Saturday's arrests, Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said the Perugia case "confirms the need to always maintain high surveillance in locations where only religious activities should take place."

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