VZCZCXRO7826
PP RUEHFL RUEHNP RUEHROV
DE RUEHRO #2504/01 3551408
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211408Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9590
INFO RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN PRIORITY 0743
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN PRIORITY 9167
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE PRIORITY 2826
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY 2972

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 002504 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/CT -- RHONDA SHORE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC EFIN KCRM KHLS AEMR
SUBJECT: ITALY: 2007 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM 
 
REF: STATE 146856 
 
¶1. (U) The following is post's proposed text for the Italy 
portion of the 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism. 
 
¶2. (U) There were no successful large-scale terrorist attacks 
in Italy in 2007.  Italy aggressively investigated and 
prosecuted terrorism suspects, dismantled terrorist-related 
cells within its borders and maintained high-level 
professional cooperation with its international partners. 
U.S. counterterrorism cooperation with the Italian government 
has remained excellent. 
 
Italy's law enforcement and judicial authorities continued to 
be engaged in counterterrorism efforts, with several 
noteworthy cases during the reporting period.  In June, 
authorities issued arrest warrants in Milan for nine Tunisian 
nationals, including Ben Khemais Essid Sami, for recruiting 
militants in Italy for training in Afghanistan and providing 
logistical and financial support for a Milan-based Salafist 
terror cell from 1997 to 2001.  In July, police arrested 
three Moroccan nationals in Perugia on terrorism charges, the 
culmination of a two-year investigation.  The individuals, 
who included the Imam of the local mosque, were in possession 
of chemicals used in explosives-making and jihadist training 
equipment. 
 
In October, police arrested Iraqi national Saber Fadhil 
Hussein on charges of leading a cell that sought to procure 
ultralight aircraft and anti-tank rockets from Italian and 
other sources for use in attacks against coalition forces in 
Iraq.  Also in October, a Milan court re-sentenced Mohammed 
Daki, a Moroccan immigrant accused in 2003 of recruiting 
suicide bombers for Iraq, to four years imprisonment in 
absentia.  (He had been expelled to Morocco in 2005 under the 
so-called Pisanu decree allowing the Interior Ministry to 
expel terror suspects).  Maher Bouyahia and Ali Ben Saffi 
Toumi, both Tunisian, were sentenced in the same ruling to 
six years imprisonment, overturning a January 2005 decision 
by a Milan judge that acquitted Daki and the others on the 
grounds that they were "guerilla fighters" and not 
terrorists. 
 
In October, a Spanish court acquitted Rabei Osman Sayed 
Ahmed, an Egyptian national currently serving an eight-year 
prison term in Milan, of involvement in the Madrid train 
bombings.  This verdict does not affect his sentence in 
Italy, where he was found guilty in 2006 of subversive 
association aimed at international terrorism for having 
recruited suicide bombers in Italy for Iraq.  In November, as 
part of an international sweep involving British, French and 
Portuguese authorities, police arrested 11 suspects 
(primarily Tunisians and Algerians) across Northern Italy and 
charged them with having been members of a Milan-based cell 
that recruited and sent suicide bombers to Iraq and 
Afghanistan.  In December, a Milan court convicted 
Egyptian-born Imam Abu Imad and ten others of promoting jihad 
and recruiting potential suicide bombers.  The members of the 
group received sentences ranging from two to ten years. 
 
Domestic anarchist-inspired and extreme-left terrorist groups 
presented a continued (albeit small-scale) threat despite 
Italian authorities' continued efforts to dismantle their 
organizations.  In February, in a string of simultaneous 
raids across northern Italy, police arrested 15 people 
suspected of membership in the operational wing of the Red 
Brigades.  Police found arms caches during searches and 
determined that the cells were planning attacks on leading 
political figures, including former Prime Minister 
Berlusconi. 
 
The Italian government continued to make use of reinforced 
counterterrorism legislation enacted in 2005, which 
facilitated the detention of suspects, mandated arrest for 
crimes involving terrorism, and expedited procedures for the 
deportation of persons who may be involved in terrorist 
activities. 
 
The European Court of Human Rights is reviewing the Italian 
government's policy of expulsions and deportations without 
judicial review.  In May, the court blocked the expulsion of 
two Moroccan nationals who had been acquitted of terrorism 
charges in Italy, citing the risk that their rights would be 
violated upon return to Morocco. 
 
Italian authorities have stated publicly that many radical 
Islamist groups in Italy are inspired by or connected to 
al-Qaida in the Maghreb (AQIM) and other jihadist groups and 
 
ROME 00002504  002 OF 002 
 
 
use Italy as a logistical and financial base.  Kurdistan 
Workers' Party (PKK)-affiliated organizations do not have a 
major presence in Italy but are thought to have links with 
affiliated charitable organizations that maintain Italian 
branches. 
 
In August, Parliament passed a law reforming the intelligence 
services.  The new law, for which implementing regulations 
are still being developed, changes the structure of the 
services, brings them under the authority of the Prime 
Minister's office, and lays out more precise guidelines 
governing key issues such as parliamentary oversight, 
management of classified information and collaboration with 
law enforcement and judicial authorities. 
 
With respect to financial aspects of fighting terrorism, 
Italy aggressively identifies and blocks financial resources 
destined for suspected terrorist individuals and groups. 
Italy is one of the most active countries in the world with 
regard to the number of individuals and organizations 
submitted for designation to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee 
against al-Qaida and the Taliban (73 individuals and 15 
organizations).  Since 2001, Italian authorities have frozen 
Euro 500,000 (USD 720,000) in assets belonging to individuals 
or entities in Italy suspected of financing terror 
activities.  Italy works closely with the U.S. on money 
laundering matters and information sharing.  As an active 
member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the 
Egmont Group, Italy cooperates actively with other foreign 
governments as well. 
 
Italy cooperates closely with the U.S. and other 
international partners in the fight against terrorism.   As a 
non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Italy takes 
active part in Counterterrorism Committee (CTC) and 1267 
Committee deliberations and is a strong proponent of 
multilateral cooperation in countering terrorism 
(particularly the General Assembly's Global Counter-Terrorism 
Strategy and the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task 
Force).  Italy is also a leading financial contributor to the 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 
Counterterrorism Prevention Branch. 
 
Italy hosted the meeting of the EU's group of six (G6) 
Ministers of the Interior with DHS Secretary Chertoff in May 
to discuss cooperation strategies in the fight against 
radicalization and terrorism.  Within the G8, Italy plays an 
active role in the Rome-Lyon Group and the Counter Terrorism 
Action Group (CTAG), within which Italy leads an initiative 
to enhance counterterrorism security measures in airports in 
the western Balkans. 
 
Italy is an important partner in the Proliferation Security 
Initiative and the Container Security Initiative, and is an 
initial partner nation of the Global Initiative to Combat 
Nuclear Terrorism.  The U.S. and Italy have concluded initial 
negotiations on an HSPD-6 data sharing agreement and signed 
an Aide Memoire on data sharing on December 4, 2007.  In May 
2006, the U.S. and Italy signed a new treaty on extradition 
and mutual legal assistance, which, when ratified by the U.S. 
Senate, will allow for joint investigative teams, easier 
asset freezing and faster sharing of financial information. 
 
Italy is a vital participant in NATO's Active Endeavour naval 
mission against terrorism in the Mediterranean, and is an 
important contributor to international military missions in 
Lebanon (where it leads UNIFIL), Afghanistan (where it holds 
Regional Command-West and rotating command of the Kabul 
Region), and Iraq (where it plays a lead role in the NATO 
Training Mission), among others. 
 
Italy plays an important role in international partnership 
initiatives with the Broader Middle East such as the EU's 
Barcelona Process and the G8's Broader Middle East and North 
Africa Initiative (BMENA), in the framework of which Italy 
co-sponsors the Democracy Assistance Dialogue. 
 
Italy contributes training personnel to various regional 
counterterrorism training centers such as SEARCCT (South East 
Asia Regional Centre on Counterterrorism) in Malaysia, the 
JCLEC (Joint Centre on Law Enforcement Cooperation) in 
Indonesia, and the African Union's Anti-Terrorism Centre in 
Algeria. 
SPOGLI