Blogger held in Italy for plotting Jihad

Rome, June 13 (IANS/AKI) A young Moroccan blogger has been arrested in northern Italy after being accused of plotting terrorist attacks and waging Jihad via the internet.

Anti-terrorism police detained the 21-year-old Moroccan in Brescia city in Lombardy region, and seized documents in which the suspect allegedly incited Muslims to wage holy war against Italy and France.

The Moroccan faces charges of recruitment aimed at international terrorism and inciting racial, ethnic and religious hatred.

The suspect had created an "Italian" branch of the grassroots jihadist movement Sharia4 via his blog, Sharia4Italy, according to investigators.

They said he recently researched possible terror targets and expressed growing interest in the conflict in Syria.

He also said he wanted to join jihadists fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Internet played an important role in the Moroccan's alleged propaganda activities, which involved dissemination of jihadist material, police said.

The Moroccan also used the internet to obtain instructions on explosives, weapons and warfare techniques, police said.

The suspect developed a hatred of the west as a child following Al Qaeda's 9/11 attacks on the US, when he was allegedly victimised and called a "terrorist" and "Taliban", investigators said.

The Sharia4 online network emerged in Belgium in 2010, and has a number of websites.

--IANS/AKI

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