Turkish intelligence credited for rescuing Italian aid worker from Al-Shabaab in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - When Dassault Falcon 900EX flight, operated by Italian Intelligence disembarked at Ciampino airport in Rome on Sunday, it marked the end of an 18-month search and rescue of Silvia Romano, an Italian aid worker kidnapped gunmen in Kilifi, Southeast Kenya in 2018.

Donned in light-blue Islamic dress, the 25-year-old was lead out of the plane by intelligence forces before meeting the country's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, and dozens of family members from Milan.

At the airport, a smiling Silvia waved to reporters, before hugging family members and giving few remarks in presence of the country's top leadership. "I was strong and resisted," Romano was quoted by Italian newspapers as saying after her release.

But the youthful Romano, who worked for Milele Onlus, an NGO within Kenya, owes all her life to deadly Turkish intelligence team, MIT, which launched sophisticated operations before locating and finally securing her release from the Al-Shabaab militants on Saturday.

After months of misery in the hands of the kidnappers, the Italian government reached out to Turkey for help in December 2019, commencing a four-month search and rescue mission, which culminated in her liberation two days ago.

MIT, reports indicate, established that the aid worker was alive before embarking in the fluid and sophisticated operation to secure her release, sources said. At the time of release, she was dressed in Somali traditional attire within the outskirts of Afgoye town, 30km West of the capital, Mogadishu.

Italian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Marina Sereni confirmed the cooperation from the Turkish intelligence service, in a statement to Italian LA7 TV on Sunday.

"There has been cooperation with the Turkish secret service in the region to locate and take action at the right time," he said, a confirmation that the Turkish administration is a top stakeholder in the quest for peace in Somalia.

Later on Sunday after Silvia's arrival in Rome, Turkish security sources said Romano was rescued after a joint effort by Turkey's MIT intelligence agency, Italian intelligence and Somalia's National Intelligence Service Agency [NISA]

"The MIT began work in the region on determining Silvia Romano's condition in December 2019 upon a request from Italian authorities," multiple sources told Italian local media.

Credible security sources told Garowe Online that the aid worker was kidnapped by a local militia in Kenya, who handed her to the Al-Shabaab for a fee at the dense Boni Forest. But it remarks unclear how the militants beat security blocks to cross over to Somalia, they said in a series of corroborative statements.

Although her terms for release remain scanty, Corriere Della Sera, an Italian newspaper, claimed that money exchanged hands between the intelligence operatives, the government of Italy, and the agents of the Al-Shabaab.

“The group's emissaries indicate the Bay area in the village of Buulo Fulaay as the site of the prison. They say she was locked up in a cave with other hostages for a while. They fix the final price, after the money paid to pay the various contacts,” it said in a damning report.

After her release, Silvia Romano was handed over to the Italian intelligence agency and the embassy in Mogadishu where she spent a night. This marked her short journey to Italy, ending 18 months of anguish, frantic search, and pressure on the government.

Conte said the task force working to free Romano had been in the final stages "for the last months", after having proof that she was still alive. He added that details were not disclosed so as to not compromise the operation.

"We are so glad to welcome Silvia back in such a delicate moment for the country. The state is always there, and will always be there," Conte said as reported by Reuters. He was the first to break news on Ms. Romano's release on his Twitter account.

Even more surprising, Italian local media reported, Ms. Romano converted to Islam, some quoting her saying "I was not forced by anyone, it was my choice". She also appeared a few months pregnant in footage released by intelligence agencies upon arrival in Rome.

In Kenya, three people have so far been charged with the kidnapping including Moses Luwali, Abdulla Gababa Wario, and Ibrahim Adan Omar who was said to be a key suspect. Authorities linked them to the crime scene.

The East Africa nation has been the hotspot of kidnapping by local militia, who later trade their preys to Al-Shabaab. The Al-Qaida linked group has often used such opportunities to ask for ransom, which is used to finance its illegal operations.

For instance, in April last year, two Cuban doctors surgeon Landy Rodríguez and general medicine specialist Assel Herrera were abducted in Mandera before being taken to Somalia. Intelligence agencies located in Gedo.

Turkey is manifesting itself as a "true partner" of Mogadishu and is currently involved in various mega projects in the war-torn nation. As a result, Al-Shabaab has been targeting its citizens with the most recent being in December 2019, in an attack that leftover 90 people dead in Mogadishu, authorities said.

GAROWE ONLINE