Italy deports Egyptian IS supporter

Rome: Italian authorities on Friday expelled a 29-year-old Egyptian accused of supporting the Islamic State jihadist group who was willing to wage Jihad against western countries, the Interior Ministry said.

The Egyptian, a Milan resident, was deported aboard a flight to Cairo from nearby Malpensa airport after police began tracking him in 2015, the ministry said.

The radical Islamist was in contact on Facebook with a Moroccan foreign fighter who travelled to Syria and a second Moroccan jihadist who allegedly died in fighting in the city of Homs in 2016, the ministry said, citing investigators.

The suspect was the 35th alleged religious extremist to be deported from Italy this year and the 272nd since January 2015, according to the ministry.