(ANSA) - Three Algerian men have been arrested in Italy on suspicion of being potential terrorist operatives ready to carry out attacks. The three, who are allegedly linked to an Algerian militant group allied with al Qaeda, were arrested in the northern city of Brescia and in Naples in the south during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to investigators, the three were in contact with the bin Laden-linked "Salafite Cell for Preaching and
Fighting" in their native country. They were identified as Yamine Bouhrama, Khaled Serai and Mohammed Larbi. All three were in their 30s.
Since 2001 several north Africans have been arrested in Italy accused of providing logistical support to terrorists, by procuring false documents and raising money. The three arrested in Naples and Brescia faced more serious accusations. They are believed to have had a potentially operative role in the cell's operations.
Two of them - Bourhama and Serai - were said to have contacts in Norway, where they had apparently lived under false ID thanks to documents obtained in France. One of the men had spent time in training camps in
Afghanistan and Chechnya, a source in Naples said, without specifying which.
The same man was said to have been in touch with people investigated in Britain in connection with alleged plans to stage bacteriological attacks. According to initial reports, Bouhrama was arrested in Naples, near the central train station, while Serai and Larbi were handcuffed in Brescia.
According to investigative sources, police found material containing Islamic extremist propaganda in the homes of the three.
