Swiss prosecutors indict alleged IS member arrested in 2017

An Iraqi citizen suspected of being a high-ranking member of the Islamic State group has been indicted for allegedly violating a Swiss ban on extremist groups and accused of plotting attacks in Switzerland and Lebanon, federal prosecutors said Tuesday..

The Swiss attorney general's office said the suspect allegedly served as a recruiter, trafficker and cash-provider for IS.

It did not name him, but said he has been in custody since his arrest in May 2017.

The man is accused of attempting to incite a fellow IS member the month before to carry out a suicide attack in Lebanon that was prevented in time, the attorney general's office said.

He also allegedly received instructions to carry out an attack in Switzerland, sent financial support to the Islamic State group, and instructed an IS member living in Syria to set up IS sleeper cells, the attorney general's office said.

An attack in Switzerland was never imminent, the office said.

The indictment charges him with violating the ban on extremist groups, membership in IS as a criminal enterprise, and producing and stockpiling images of violent acts.

Prosecutors further accused the indicted man of providing false information about his financial situation more than a dozen times, enabling him to receive social assistance benefits in Switzerland to which he was not entitled, the office said.

Switzerland largely avoided the wave of deadly terror attacks that targeted cities in Europe and the Middle East in the last decade. Federal police have broadened their authority to monitor communications and potential suspects for possible threats.