Naples. ISIS soldier Sillah Osman, a 34-year-old Gambian man arrested last Wednesday in Naples during an anti-terrorism raid by police and Carabinieri, does not appear to have received an "activation." However, his psychological profile and emotional instability have worried law enforcement, who for this very reason kept him under constant surveillance. Upon completion of his training in Libya and his pledge to the so-called Islamic State, investigations by De ROS and the State Police revealed, he was also given the nom de guerre "Abou Lukman." The collaboration of Alagie Touray, the 21-year-old Gambian man arrested on April 20 in front of the mosque in Licola, near Naples, was crucial in "flushing out" Sillah. Touray (who had been "activated" to drive into the crowd in a car), after behaving towards Italian investigators exactly as the ISIS manual dictates, began to cooperate, allowing them to precisely profile Sillah. He provided the "crusaders" (as ISIS's Al Nabah magazine, in issue 130, referred to the Italian investigators who arrested Touray, editor's note) with crucial information identifying Sillah (who holds a temporary residence permit expiring in 2019 and is applying for admission to a SPRAR project), such as his almost exclusive use of shorts, the markedly splayed incisors, his passion for reggae music, and his gait. Investigators also managed to install a video camera at the Lecce reception center (CARA) that recorded him simulating a violent act by miming the use of a machine gun.
“It is an unprecedented investigation”. This is how the prosecutor of Naples, Giovanni Melillo, the director of the Central Directorate of the Prevention Police Lamberto Giannini and the commander of the Special Operations Group of the Carabinieri General Pasquale Angelosanto, defined the investigative activity that allowed them to identify and arrest Sillah Osman, 34, the Gambian arrested in Naples on charges of being a soldier of the so-called Islamic State. Both Sillah and Alagie Touray, the other Gambian arrested last April 20 in front of the mosque of Licola, in the Naples area, said General Angelosanto, “were found to be soldiers of the Islamic State”. With regard to the two alleged terrorists, Angelosanto added, “we have collected news and investigative data that have allowed us to define their path and psychological profile, documented by a series of checks in the detention centers”.
“He was not preparing attacks in Italy but the investigations revealed that there was an important project that, presumably, was to be carried out in other European countries”. This was stated by the commander of the Carabinieri Special Operations Group, Brigadier General Pasquale Angelosanto, on the sidelines of the meeting at the Naples Prosecutor's Office called to illustrate the details of Sillah Osman's arrest. During the meeting, the Naples prosecutor, Giovanni Melillo, announced that in the coming days there will be meetings and contacts with French, Spanish and German investigators during which the information acquired during the investigative activity will be transferred.
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