VAPRIO D’ADDA — A Pakistani terrorist expelled from Italy under suspicions of terrorist involvement captained Italy's under-19 cricket team, police sources say. Aftab Farook, a 26-year-old from Vaprio D’Adda in Lombardy, was suspected of being an “aspiring soldier” for Islamic State after being caught on a wire-tap talking of attacking buildings in Milan.

 The targets included a nearby airport, as well as a wine shop. 

 The day after the arrest, Minister of the Interior Angelino Alfano said the suspect supported Islamic State and held plans to join militants in Syria. 

 “We were absolutely shocked, I still don’t believe what happened,” said Fabio Marabini, president of Farook’s former cricket club.

 “We spoke just before he was put on a flight to Islamabad. He thanked me for all I’d done for him and told me he was scared, because he has no more ties in Pakistan.”

 “He couldn’t have hurt a fly. He was chosen to captain the national team for the very reason that he was trustworthy and always willing to help others out,” Marabini added, saying that Aftab’s family was “well integrated and very normal.” 

 According to the Kingsgrove Milano President, although his wife did not know Italian, she never wore a full burkha.

 “The person described by the newspapers is not the one I know. I hope this has all been a misunderstanding.”

 Farook’s brother, in conversation with ANSA, spoke in a similar vein: “He used to collect coins and stamps, he loved live… and he was very fond of animals. He would never have done what newspapers are accusing him of.” 

 He also added that Farook had been planning to go on holiday to Morocco with his family this September.

 The news of Farook’s expulsion shocked locals around Milan, where he had been living with his family since the age of 13.

 Nevertheless, the young man is said to have changed considerably during the last 12 months, when he begun beating his wife and forcing her to wear a full burkha, according to reports drawn-up by anti-mafia officials. 

 In Genoa, meanwhile, police arrested a Syrian national after raiding four mosques. Mahmoud Jrad, a 23-year-old who lived in Varese, was planning to join the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group in his home country. Three imams are also under investigation. 

 In Rome, security measures have been increased in key spots around the capital, including the Colosseum, Piazza Navona and Piazza Venezia. 

 The crackdown follows a renewed threat by ISIS, which recently uploaded a video saying it would be “more active” in Rome in the near future, as well as Minister of Justice Andrea Orlando's warning that "ISIS is behind the influx of migrants coming from Libya."

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