Antiterror police carried out raids across Italy on Thursday morning, arresting 14 people they accuse of helping fund violent extremists in Syria.
The suspects belonged to two separate groups, one in Lombardy and the other in Sardinia, that are each suspected of supporting the Al-Nusra Front, a jihadist organization also known as Al-Qaeda in Syria.
They were arrested after an investigation uncovered evidence of money laundering and misuse of payment services in Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Turkey and other countries linked to ten Syrians in Lombardy. At least two of them are alleged to have collected money from the local community to send to jihadists in Syria.
The investigation led police to another four people of Syrian and Moroccan origin in Sardinia who are also suspected of helping to fund the Al-Nusra Front, which claims to have carried out scores of suicide bombings, kidnappings and other attacks in Syria.
Police released this video of the arrests:
Police detained the suspects in an operation that saw them carry out around 20 searches in Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Sardinia.
They are expected to give more details at a press conference later on Thursday.
