After the attack in Brussels that left two dead, further information about the suspected attacker is becoming known. The Italian government said he came from Tunisia via the island of Lampedusa.
The suspected Brussels attacker is said to have arrived in Europe in 2011 on a refugee boat from Tunisia via the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. This is reported by the Ansa news agency, citing the Italian government.
After a temporary stay in Sweden in 2016, the 45-year-old was classified as a radical Islamist by the Italian authorities and was also observed. He later went to Belgium.
Salvini warned of terrorists in Lampedusa
The deputy prime minister of the incumbent right-wing government, Matteo Salvini, saw this as proof that he was right when he warned against Islamist terrorists landing on Lampedusa. “I was accused of fomenting hatred. But I was right,” said the former interior minister and current transport minister from the right-wing Lega party.
On Monday evening, an armed man killed two Swedish fans in Brussels, where the international football match between Belgium and Sweden was being played. The suspected perpetrator was shot dead by police early yesterday morning. The investigators had previously searched all night for the 45-year-old rejected asylum seeker from Tunisia. The terrorist militia “Islamic State” has since claimed responsibility for the crime.
Shortly after the crime, investigators in Brussels said they were following up on evidence of an Islamist motive, particularly in connection with the Koran burnings in Sweden.
Lampedusa: hub for immigrants
Because of its proximity to Tunisia, the small island of Lampedusa has been one of the hubs of immigration from Africa to Europe for many years. This summer, after a dangerous sea crossing in small boats, several thousand migrants arrived there every day. Currently there are usually a few dozen per day. The number of arrivals depends heavily on weather conditions. Fatal accidents occur again and again during the crossings.