Terrorism in France, two Italian-Moroccan brothers arrested: 'Terrorist attack planned'
A 22-year-old engineering student and his 20-year-old brother were arrested in northern France near the Longuenesse prison. Semiautomatic weapons, explosives and an Is flag were seized in their car. According to investigators, they had radicalised themselves online over the past two years and were aiming at martyrdom
Key points
A 22-year-old engineering student and his 20-year-old brother, with Italian and Moroccan citizenship, were arrested in northern France on charges of planning 'anti-Semitic and deadly actions'. This was announced by the French anti-terrorist prosecutor's office, which reconstructed a plan of attack that, according to the investigators, had developed over the past two years in a process of radicalisation.
The two young men, identified only as Elyasse H. and Moad H., had arrived in France in 2017 with their parents. They were arrested on Tuesday near the Longuenesse prison in the north of the country. During the check, investigators seized semi-automatic weapons, explosive material and an Is flag in their car, elements that aggravated the accusatory picture.
Loading...
The Confession and the Martyrdom Plan
After their arrest, the two brothers admitted to having planned a terrorist attack in France, declaring that they aspired to martyrdom after having come into contact with jihadist propaganda content. This is one of the most relevant aspects of the investigation: radicalisation would not have matured within a structured network, but through a progressive process of ideological exposure, fuelled online.
The case brings back to the centre of European attention the threat of young, apparently integrated individuals who can quickly turn into potential perpetrators of attacks. A dynamic that makes the preventive work of the authorities more complex and shifts the centre of gravity of security to the digital terrain.
According to French counter-terrorism, 'the analysis of the seized digital media, as well as the statements of their family entourage, show a radicalisation of the two brothers over the last two years, as well as a clear intensification, in the days before their detention, of their jihadist commitment and of the initiatives undertaken as part of a terrorist project whose deadly and anti-Semitic character appears to be established'.
Brand connect
Loading...
