Rawti Shax ( ku, ڕەوتی شاخ; "towards the mountain") was a Kurdish

cyberterrorist Cyberterrorism is the use of the Internet to conduct violent acts that result in, or threaten, the loss of life or significant bodily harm, in order to achieve political or ideological gains through threat or intimidation. Acts of deliberate, la ...

offshoot of the

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

group

Ansar al-Islam Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan ( ku, ئەنسارولئیسلام له کوردستان),Chalk, Peter, ''Encyclopedia of Terrorism'' Volume 1, 2012, ABC-CLIO simply called Ansar al-Islam ( ku, ئەنسارولئیسلام), also nicknamed the Kurdi ...

Dissolution

In October 2015, seventeen members, including the suspected leader,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

-based

Mullah Krekar Najmuddin Vahid Faraj Ahmad ( ku, نەجمەدین وەحید فەرەج ئەحمەد, July 7, 1956), better known as Mullah Krekar ( ku, مه‌لا کرێکار), is an Iraqi Kurdish Sunni Islamic scholar and militiant who was the founder and ...

, were arrested. All members were

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...

except for one

Kosovar Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...

affiliate, and they were all arrested by an

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

-led, multi-nation sweep by police across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The operation dismantled an integrated cell in Italy, Norway, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The network was accused of radicalising and recruiting fighters for the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...

, plotting attacks targeting Norwegian and British diplomats in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, and getting prepared to establish a second

caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

, after the

Islamic Emirate of Byara The Islamic Emirate of Byara was a short-lived unrecognized Kurdish Islamic state ruled by Sharia law which declared independence from Iraq in 2001 and ended in 2003. Foundation In September 2001, in the Byara District, located in the Avroma ...

. It was also suspected of operating its own military training camps. The Italian

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

chief Giuseppe Governale said that the operation was "the most important international police operation in Europe in 20 years".

Arrests and warrants

A total of seventeen people, all but one of whom were Iraqi Kurds, were arrested or indicted in the raids; seven in Italy, four in the United Kingdom, three in Norway, two in Finland and one in Switzerland. 26 properties were searched in total, including in Germany, where officials seized electronic devices and documents. Arrested in Italy: * Abdulrahman Newroz, 36,

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and '' comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeie ...

, Iraqi Kurd, suspected operative leader of the network, arrested in prison, trained at least five jihadists who travelled to Syria and Iraq * Eldin Hodza, 26, Merano,

, trained with jihadists in Syria financed by Italian ringleader in 2014 * Auch Mohamad Goran Fatah, 29, Merano, Iraqi Kurd, admitted contact with other indicted, allegedly in leadership circle * Hama Mahmood Kaml, 30, Merano, Iraqi Kurd, driver for a transport company, ISIL-sympathiser * Ali Salih Abdullah, 38,

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third ...

, Iraqi Kurd, communications with Italian ringleader * Ibrahim Jamal, 31, Bolzano, Iraqi Kurd, nicknamed "

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

", fought with ISIL in 2012, previously lived in England, spread jihadist propaganda and talked about the need for terrorist attacks in Europe or against European interests as well as to free Mullah Krekar from prison * Hasan Samal Jalal, 36, Bolzano, Iraqi Kurd, suspected to be ready to commit terrorist acts Arrested in Norway: *

, suspected leader of the network, arrested in prison, original leader of Ansar al-Islam, allegedly pledged support to ISIL in 2014 * Karim Rahim Twana, 38,

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in ...

, Kurdish Norwegian citizen, open supporter and close associate of Krekar * Kamil Jalal Fatah, 42,

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

, Iraqi Kurd, visits to Krekar in prison, communications with Italian ringleader Arrest warrants in Finland: * Male, joined ISIL, presumed killed in battle in March 2014 Arrest warrant in Switzerland: * Male, joined the

Al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...

in Syria in June 2014 The network was in addition believed to have cells in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and Iraq. In March 2016 4 suspects previously arrested in the United Kingdom were released without charges, after winning a court case against their extradition to Italy.

Extraditions to Italy

Several people have been extradited to Italy: *

was extradited in March 2020. He is serving a prison sentence as of 2020. *A 43-year old man was extradited from Norway in October 2020; he is Kurdish but has a Norwegian citizenship. However, media claimed in 2019 that his Norwegian citizenship had been recalled and he currently remains stateless.

References

{{reflist Organizations based in Europe designated as terrorist Jihadist groups Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Islamic terrorism in Italy Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the United Kingdom Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Norway Police raids on Islamists Dark web October 2015 crimes in Europe 2015 in Europe Kurdish Islamic organisations Kurdish Islamism

Dissolution

Arrests and warrants

Extraditions to Italy

See also

References