Italian investigators suspect IS role in Libya migrant flows

MILAN – Italy’s justice minister says that top investigators are looking into whether the Islamic State group is playing a role in managing the flow of migrants from Libya.

Justice Minister Andrea Orlando told Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Thursday that the role of Islamic militants that control swaths of Libya is “a trail that has taken shape in the last weeks.” He added that “we haven’t found the smoking gun” but there are clues that have caught the attention of anti-terrorism prosecutors.

Investigators also suspect that the funds paid to traffickers are used to finance terror activities.

Italian investigators have been trying to move their prosecutions beyond those who navigate the traffickers’ boats across the Mediterranean Sea and toward the masterminds who cash in millions for the journeys.