Gambian migrant seized in Italy on suspicion of planning attack

ROME (Reuters) – Italian police have arrested an immigrant from Gambia suspected of planning an attack on behalf of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, a prosecutor said on Thursday.

Alagie Touray was arrested on April 20 as he was leaving a mosque in Licola, near the southern city of Naples, after local authorities received a tip off from Spanish intelligence.

Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo said investigators had found a video of Touray swearing allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

…police said, provided a transcript and image from the message where Touray said, “I swear allegiance to the Caliph of Muslims Abu Bakr Al Quaraishi Al Baghdadi, and to listen to him and obey him in difficult and easy times, on this 2nd day of Rajab and Allah is witness to what I say,”

Touray, 21, wrote on the Telegram messaging service that he was “on a mission” and asked others to pray for him, Melillo said. He told police that he had received a “request” from a fellow Gambian to drive a car into a crowd of people, but said he had no intention of doing so.

Touray arrived in Italy in March 2017 after being rescued in the Mediterranean from a boat packed with 638 other migrants. He was subsequently taken to a migrant centre in Licola and had applied for political asylum. His request is still pending.

“This is how this immigrant wanted to pay us back for asking for political asylum, poor fellow. Stop the invasion before it is too late,” League leader Matteo Salvini wrote on Twitter shortly after Touray’s arrest was announced.