Italy arrests Moroccan over Tunisian museum killings

May 20, 2015 9:51 AM

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian police said on Wednesday they had arrested a 22-year-old Moroccan man suspected of involvement in the March 18 attack on the Bardo museum in Tunis which killed 20 tourists.

Moroccan citizen Touil Abdelmajid is seen in this undated handout photograph released by Italian police in Milan on May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Italian Police/Handout via Reuters

Police in Milan said the man, named as Touil Abdelmajid, had been sought by authorities in several countries.

Tunisia has said it has arrested the great majority of those responsible for the attack which was launched by a cell of 23 militants with overlapping allegiances to a number of hardline Islamist groups.

Tunisian authorities believe Abdelmajid had a role in both planning and carrying out the museum attack, Bruno Megale, an official in Italy's special operations police unit, told reporters at a news conference.

He said Abdelmajid, who was living with his mother and two brothers in Gaggiano outside Milan, reached Italy on a migrant boat in February.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspect would be sent to Tunisia for questioning.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi congratulated the police over the arrest, saying he was "proud of your professionalism."

(Reporting By Sara Rossi, writing by Gavin Jones Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)