ISLAMABAD – A terrorist-related arrest in Salerno area of Italy raised serious concerns as several claims online point that some countries served as transit point for a suspect identified as Mirwais Safi.
As per available information, the man Marwais or Mirwais Safi reportedly belonged to ISIS-K (Daesh-Khorasan). Italian authorities say that a 21-year-old Italian university student was arrested in Cava de’ Tirreni, in the Salerno area, following an investigation involving DIGOS and the Central Directorate of Prevention Police.
The official Salerno police statement identifies him as 21 year-old university student. Investigators said that AISE previously flagged his online activity, including searches for military training material, weapons, explosives and publications associated with the Islamic State. A subsequent search reportedly uncovered explosive-related manuals, ISIS/radical Islamist material, two knives, a machete, two modified blank-firing pistols and 107 blank cartridges.
The official Italian police account, however, does not identify the suspect as Afghan. Instead, it explicitly identifies him as Italian. Salerno Prosecutor’s Office gives the same nationality description. The major Italian reports reviewed here also describe him as Italian. Therefore, the claim that the Salerno suspect was an Afghan national is not confirmed by the primary Italian documentation currently available.
Viral Claim
There is also no evidence in the cited Italian reporting that the suspect was identified as a member or operative of ISIS-K, the Islamic State’s Khorasan branch. Italian authorities refer to publications associated with the Islamic State and to material reflecting radical Islamist ideology.
Evidence that investigators found ISIS-related material does not automatically establish membership in ISIS-K. A specific ISIS-K connection would require additional evidence, such as an official statement, identified communications, operational links, or credible reporting from investigators or intelligence authorities. No such evidence appears in the Italian material reviewed for this fact check.
The claim that the suspect travelled from Afghanistan through India and then into Europe is likewise unsupported by the Italian police and prosecutorial accounts examined here.
The official descriptions of the investigation focus on his online activity, searches for weapons, military and explosives material, ISIS-related publications;, his alleged intention to undertake violent actions, the subsequent search of his person, premises and electronic devices; and the weapons and instructional material allegedly discovered.
Afghanistan and India details substantially change the nature of the story. The documented case concerns an Italian student investigated in Italy for alleged extremist activity. The alternative info changes same event into the story of Afghan ISIS-K operative who allegedly entered Europe through India. Those are different claims.
As per the available information we had, the Salerno arrest is real, but Afghan identity, ISIS-K affiliation, and the Afghanistan–India–Europe route are not established by the available evidence.
Italian authorities themselves identify the arrested person as a 21-year-old Italian university student. The investigation described by Italian authorities concerns his online activity, extremist material, weapons and alleged preparations for violence—not an identified Afghan operative travelling through India.
