Milan: Libyan attacks army barracks

Milan: Libyan attacks army barracks

The Viale Jenner Mosque is considered a radical mosque.


--------


A Libyan man threw a bomb at an Italian army barracks in Milan early on Monday and was injured in the explosion, losing a hand, police said, but there was no immediate explanation of the motive for the attack.


An Italian soldier was slightly hurt in the attack at the Santa Barbara barracks near San Siro soccer stadium. Police said the man, carrying a small bomb in his bag, got into the barrack compound and threw the bomb while shouting in Arabic.


An army corporal on guard duty managed to stop the man getting closer to the building, helping to avoid more damage or casualties, police said.


Police identified the attacker as 35-year-old Mohammed Game and said he was a Libyan immigrant with a proper residence permit who was married to an Italian woman and has lived in Italy since 2003.


Game prayed regularly at Milan's main Jenner Street mosque but did not appear to be an extremist, the mosque's president, Abdel Hamid Shaari, told Ansa news agency.


"He dresses like a westerner, with a very short beard. If we had suspected anything we would have told the police," he said.


(more)



The president of the Islamic institute of Milan has on Monday condemned the attack against military barracks in the northern Italian city of Milan. "Violence is always condemnable," said Abdel Hamid Shaari in an interview with Adnkronos. However, Shaari also said it is possible the attack was an isolated incident and the work of a "madman".


(..)


Shaari denied that there is tension in the Muslim community over Italian troops in Afghanistan. According to some reports, the Libyan man who attacked the barracks shouted "The army must leave Afghanistan!"


"As far as Im concerned, there is no climate of hostility," said Shaari, who added that he felt "surprised" about the nationality of the bomber.


Meanwhile, Italian far-right MEP Mario Borghezio said there are jihadists in Italy's cities who must be expelled from the country.


"In our cities, there are dormant 'fighters for Allah' cells that are ready to wake up and should be thrown out of the country," said Borghezio in an interview with Adnkronos.


"The attack in Milan is a sign which brings to light an unnerving and dangerous reality," he said.


(more)


Sources: Reuters (New York Times), AKI