Held by terror police: Moroccan national Abdel Majid Touil (above) has been arrested in Italy over the Tunisia museum massacre that left 21 tourists dead after fleeing across the Mediterranean on a migrant boat
- Abdel Majid Touil, 22, held at house he shares with his mother and brothers
- Arrived in Sicilian port on boat in February, but received an expulsion order
- Gunmen killed 22 people in March attack on Bardo museum in capital Tunis
- Two militants were shot dead by police, but third attacker went on the run
Daily Mail, May 0, 2015, By Simon Tomlinson and Hannah Roberts:
A Moroccan man has been arrested in Italy over the Tunisia museum massacre that left 21 tourists dead after fleeing across the Mediterranean on a migrant boat.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the March attack on the Bardo Museum in the capital Tunis which killed British mother Sally Adey.
Abdel Majid Touil, 22, was arrested at the house where he lives with his mother and brothers in Gaggiano, near Milan last night.
The accusations listed in the Tunisian arrest warrant include premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit attacks against the internal security of the state, belonging to a terrorist group and recruiting and training others to commit terrorist attacks, police said.
He arrived in Porto Empedocle in Sicily on a migrant boat on February 17 using the alias Abdullah, but received an expulsion order demanding he leave Italy within 15 days
From that moment, he disappeared before re-emerging in Tunisia where the authorities maintain he was personally involved in both the planning and the execution of the attacks.
The Tunisians claim that he was also involved in recruiting jihadis.
He then disappeared again and managed to reenter Italy despite the expulsion order.
Police were able to identify him in part after his mother reported that her son’s passport was missing immediately after the Bardo attack.
Bruno Megale of the anti-terrorism Digos police said: ‘He did not appear to frequent mosques close to fundamentalism in Italy and was unknown to us apart from the deportation order before the intelligence came from the Tunisian authorities.’
Extradition procedures will now begin, it is understood, but Tunisia could face difficulties because the death penalty could be imposed for the crimes of which he is accused.
The news follows warning by Libyan authorities that ISIS militias in Libya are using migrant boats to smuggle jihadis into Europe.
More fears of ISIS terrorists embedding with refugees:
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