Italian Teen Arrested for Alleged ISIS Terror Links in Major Cyber Investigation

Italian police Fiat Stilo, Massimilianogalardi, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 | Jihad Watch

A 17-year-old Italian girl living in the province of Pavia has been arrested on charges of participating in an organization linked to international terrorism. The Juvenile Court of Milan has ordered her placement in a residential care facility as a precautionary measure while the investigation continues.

The arrest followed an extensive cyber investigation led by Italy’s Postal Police and DIGOS, with support from the Central Directorate for Forensic Science and Cyber Security and the Counter-Terrorism and External Extremism Service. Authorities had been monitoring online platforms associated with jihadist activity, focusing on encrypted virtual spaces used for propaganda and recruitment.

Investigators identified a suspicious account operating through a virtual phone number on an instant messaging platform. The account was reportedly active in four invitation-only channels connected to the Islamic State (ISIS/Daesh), where extremist propaganda, recruitment content, hymns praising martyrdom, and manuals for making homemade weapons and explosives were being shared.

Further investigation linked the online profile to the 17-year-old. During a court-authorized search of her residence, police seized electronic devices that allegedly contained a significant collection of extremist material, including detailed instructions for constructing an explosive belt.

Authorities also discovered conversations between the teenager and several peers, including individuals abroad suspected of having ties to ISIS. According to investigators, the exchanges involved videos and radical content, and the girl had repeatedly expressed a desire to become a martyr in the name of Allah.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)