Among those arrested was Mullah Krekar, an Ansar al Islam founder and Iraqi Kurd who lives in Norway and allegedly leads Rawti Shax from the Scandinavian nation, Italian police told reporters Thursday.
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Earlier in the day, 16 Iraqi Kurds and one person from Kosovo were targeted in the joint operation in Italy, Britain, Norway, Finland and other countries after Italy had issued arrest warrants for them on suspicion of global terrorism.
Reuters They are moreover accused of recruiting no less than 5 people in Europe who traveled to Iraq & Syria to join ISIS, authorities stated.
A separate news release from Eurojust said that 13 people have been arrested. He wanted this generation to eventually return to the Iraqi Kurdish region to violently overthrow the government and replace it with a radical caliphate, Italian police said.
Speaking from Valettta, Malta, where she took part in the European Union meeting on the migrant crisis, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said: “If this means that Krekar leaves Norway, that’s fine”.
“The arrests were part of a pre-planned operation relating to alleged terrorism offences under Italian legislation”.
The men were also thought to be involved in a plot kill or kidnap European diplomats in an effort to free Rawti Shax’s leader, Mullah Kreka, a cleric who is in prison in Norway.
A few of the group are believed to have travelled to Iraq and Syria, where they worked with jihadist groups.
Krekar, 59, has been a controversial figure since he was granted asylum in Norway in 1991.
The Norwegian suspects face a court hearing on Friday in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, pending possible deportation to Italy, said a spokeswoman for Norway’s security service PST, Siv Alsen. Mr. Ahmad has denied having had any contact with Islamic State.
A joint Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga and USA operation ultimately cleared Ansar al-Islam from its mountain hideout, but the group and offshoots reportedly maintained cells in the area and remained active through a network of mosques.
The Eurojust statement emphasized the close cooperation among national judicial authorities in the case.
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“It shows how these networks go across Europe”.
