Europe:In a massive anti-terrorism operation led by Italian investigators, 17 Algerians and Tunisians were arrested in Italy, Portugal and England yesterday.
Police believe that those arrested were involved in setting up "Salafite Jihad" militant cells, whose main purpose was the recruitment of would-be suicide bombers due to be sent to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Although the operation was ordered by Milan-based investigators and focused on the Italian cities of Milan, Bergamo, Reggio Emilia and Varese, police also used extradition warrants to arrest people in Portugal and England, while two arrest warrants were issued in France.
Italian police reported that during the arrests they found al-Qaeda manuals for the production of explosives, detonation devices and various poisons as well as manuals on guerrilla warfare and large numbers of false identity documents. Speaking at a news conference, Giampaolo Ganzer of Milan's anti-terrorism police said: "the cells were not planning attacks in Italy but they were indoctrinating and recruiting people to send to places where terrorist attacks are an everyday reality."
As of now, those arrested have been charged with favouring illegal immigration, falsifying identity documents and helping to hide people wanted for alleged terrorist activity. Originally, Italian police sources reported that 20 people had been arrested but it was later confirmed that three suspects were still at large.
Among those arrested in Italy were Dridi Sabri, Mehidi Ben Nasr and Imed Ben Zarkaoui, all believed to occupy senior roles in the terrorist organisation.
English police confirmed that 34-year-old Ali Ben Zidane Chehidi and 54-year-old Mohammed Salah Ben Hamadi Khemiri were arrested yesterday in Croyden and Manchester respectively.
"The two men were arrested on behalf of the Italian authorities under an extradition warrant in relation to allegations that between 2003 and 2005 they forged documents to facilitate the illegal entry into Italy of recruited volunteers to fight the jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan", said a UK police statement.
Yesterday's arrests are the result of an investigation begun in 2003 and may be linked to the arrests near Perugia last July of three Moroccans accused of running a "terror school" out of a mosque and believed to be linked to the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group.
On that occasion, anti-terrorist police reported that they had found evidence of training in explosives and poisons, chemical supplies including cyanide and acids and even instructions on how to fly a Boeing 747.