The third London Bridge attacker was a known extremist who had previously told police he was "going to be a terrorist"
Youssef Zaghba, the child of a Moroccan father and Italian mother, on Tuesday was named as one of the men who killed seven and injured dozens more on Saturday night.
Italian sources immediately revealed that the 22-year-old had been on their watch list since his arrest in March last year trying to board a one-way flight to Turkey.
Zaghba even told Italian officers who stopped him that he was "going to become a terrorist", according to Roma's La Repubblica.
Sources told the paper had had been agitated and only carrying a small rucksack for his trip to Istanbul.
Milan's Corriere della Sera said Italian intelligence services had notified both British and Moroccan authorities about Zaghba.
The youth had been accused of international terrorism offences but not convicted after his attempt to go to Istanbul on March 15, 2016, the paper said. His passport and mobile phone were seized.
The latter, the paper reported, was found to contain ISIS propaganda, including a video of mass beheadings, and an ISIS flag.
It is understood there was not enough material to warrant a conviction. But there was enough to have Zaghba flagged up as a potential foreign fighter.
Zaghba was born in Fez, Morocco, to an Italian mother who lived with his father for some time before movuing back to Bologna, Italy, with her son.
The woman, identified in the press as Valeria C, was a Muslim convert who was said to have thanked the polcie for stopping Zaghba travelling to Syria. Corriere della Sera said she had thought her son had been gong to Roma.
La Repubblica quoted Zaghba's mother's response to his detention getting on board the plane. "I don't know him any more. He scares me. All he does is surf the web looking at the strangest things."
Italian reports suggested Zaghba had been radicalised in London, while working in a Pakistani restaurant. His mother said: "Before he met those people, he would never have behaved this way."
Corriere della Sera added: "Zaghba had obtained seasonal work in a restaurant in London and remained in contact with his mother in Italy. The last time he was in Italy was last year."
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