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FACT SHEET

Designation of 15 Individuals Tied to an Al Qaida Cell in Italy

Since 1999, Italian law enforcement agencies, have conducted several terrorist related investigations in order to expose terrorist cells linked with Al Qaida and operating in Italy. The Tribunale Ordinario di Milano has found all fifteen individuals listed below to be involved in Al Qaeda-related criminal activities and members of terrorist cells located in Milan, Cremona, and Parma. According to information provided by the Italian government, the fifteen individuals have helped illegal immigration to Italy and provided financial and material means for terrorist activities in Italy and Europe. Some of the fifteen have also recruited volunteers for military camps in Iraq, organized by the Ansar Al Islam group.

The Italian government has frozen the assets of these individuals within Italy. Most of the fifteen are already in the custody of Italian authorities. All are charged with participating in crimes such as the following:

· Fabricating, receiving, providing, and hiding forged documents to be used by individuals in order to reach military camps in Iraq and to move throughout Europe in order to maintain contacts with other transnational cells and to assist illegal immigrants in entering Italy and the European Union;

· Recruiting individuals for training in military camps, mainly in Iraq;

· Collecting money for terrorist-related activities;

· Organizing actions to carry out the terrorist cell’s plans;

· Planning to commit international terrorist activities in Italy and Europe;

· Providing terrorists living in European and Middle-East countries with forged documents;

· Maintaining contacts throughout Europe, the Middle-East, and Western Asia - in Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Malaysia, Afghanistan;

· Sharing religious and extremist ideals; and

· Providing cell members with weapons and explosives.

As participants of the cells in Italy, each of the 15 individuals has acted for or on behalf of Al Qaeda. In particular, some have acted for or on behalf of Ahmed Fadhil Nazar AL-KHALAYLEH (a.k.a. Abu Mussab AL-ZARQAWI), a terrorist leader with close operational ties to Al Qaeda, who was designated by the United States government on September 23, 2003, and has also been designated by the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee. Some of the following individuals has assisted or provided financial, material or other support or services to or in support of Zarqawi’s terrorist activities.

The Milan-based terrorist cell, organized and headed by El Ayashi, functioned as an associative structure within the transnational terrorist organization led by Zarqawi. The cell was involved in forging passports, collecting donations, and facilitating the illegal entry and departure of recruits into and out of Italy to combat coalition forces in Iraq. In addition, this cell recruited “brothers” to send to Iraq via Syria to the camps of Ansar Al Islam (a terrorist organization operating in Northern Iraq, linked to Al Qaeda, and designated by the United States Government and the UN). The Milan cell also had key individuals located in Parma and Cremona.

The cell included high-ranking Al Qaida operatives in direct contact with the organization’s leadership in Syria and Iraq. It supported itself with criminal activities with ramifications throughout Italy and across Europe. Their key activity was to issue forged identification, transit, and residency documents in order to aid individuals in other European countries, and even East Asia, to reach Western countries freely and securely. The cell was organized according to specific roles, with the firm intention to eventually strike imminently with acts of terrorism in different countries.

Some of the 15 individuals have acted for or on behalf of the following SDGT’s, terrorist leaders designated for their close operational ties to Al Qaeda: Ramzi Mohammed Abdullah BINALSHIBH, a terrorist leader responsible for planning the September 11 attacks and with close operational ties to Al Qaeda, who was designated on September 30, 2002; Sami Ben Khemais ESSID, designated on April 19, 2002; Es Sayed Abdelkader MAHMOUD, was designated on April 19, 2002; Tarek MAAROUFI, designated on August 29, 2002; Mokhtar BOUCHOUCHA, designated on April 19, 2002; Abdel RAHMAN, designated on October 12, 2001; Abdelkader Mahmoud ES SAYED, designated on April 19, 2002; Adel Ben SOLTANE, designated on August 29, 2002.

Individuals

1.	EL AYASHI, Radi Abd El Samie Abou El Yazid (POB: Egypt)

2.	CABDULLAAH, Ciise Maxamed (POB: Somalia)

3.	HAMMID, Mohammed Tahir (POB: Iraq)

4.	MOSTAFA, Mohamed Amin (POB: Iraq/Kurdish)

5.	MOHAMED, Daki (POB: Morocco)

6.	AL SAADI, Faraj Farj Hassan (POB: Libya)

7.	SAADI, Nassim (POB: Tunisia)

8.	BEN ABDELHAKIM, Cherif Said (POB: Tunisia)

9.	RIHANI, Lotfi (POB: Tunisia) – Wanted by the Italian authorities

10.	BOUYAHIA, Hamadi (POB: Morocco)

11.	ROUINE, Lazher Ben Khalifa Ben Ahmed (POB: Tunisia)

12.	ZARKAOUI, Imed Ben Mekki (POB: Tunisia)

13.	TRABELSI, Mourad (POB: Tunisia)

14.	HAMRAOUI, Kamel Ben Mouldi (POB: Tunisia)

15.	DRISSI, Noureddine (POB: Tunisia)

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