Italian police arrest Somali ISIS supporter for threatening to blow up St. Peter’s Basilica

Italian police said on Monday they had arrested a 20-year-old Somali man suspected of having been a member of Islamic State and who had threatened to bomb churches in Italy, including St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

They told reporters in the southern city of Bari that the man, identified as Omar Moshin Ibrahim, was detained last Thursday and that a magistrate had charged him on Monday with instigating terrorism and supporting terrorism.

0:53 Kingston police confirm two businesses allegedly sent bomb threats through email

• Kingston police confirm two businesses allegedly sent bomb threats through email
• Goodale calls string of bomb threats ‘extraordinary set of circumstances’
• Sandy Hook elementary evacuated for bomb threat on anniversary of deadly massacre
• Calgary police call widespread bomb threats a hoax
• Bomb threats sent via email to businesses across Canada, US
• Bomb threats demanding Bitcoin investigated across Canada, U.S.
• Calgary police investigate multiple bomb threats as part of international phishing scam

Previous Video

Next Video

Police said Ibrahim was stopped following a month-long surveillance operation as he was about to leave Bari where he worked for a cleaning company.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The investigation, the police officials said, included wiretaps in which Ibrahim was heard telling someone, “Let’s put bombs in all the churches of Italy. Where is the largest church? It is in Rome.”

In another conversation, they said, he was heard praising those who “killed on the path of Allah” and hailing last week’s shooting at the Strasbourg Christmas market in which a gunman killed five people.

Police added that the man used the alias of Anas Khalil and called himself “Yusuf” on social media, and had arrived in Italy in 2016. He was suspected of having been a militant of Islamic State previously.

Italian police have increased security around churches, including St. Peter’s, ahead of Christmas, which draws big crowds to the Vatican area.