Two men have been arrested in Britain as part of a European anti-terror operation led by Italian police.
A total of 20 suspected Islamic extremists were arrested across Italy, Britain, France and Portugal today on charges ranging from association with the aim of committing international terrorism, to falsifying documents to aid illegal immigrants.
Police believe the detainees had been setting up "Salafist jihadi" militant cells, which have recruited and assisted would-be suicide bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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The operation, ordered by Milan prosecutors, targeted the northern Italian cities of Milan, Bergamo, Varese and Reggio Emilia as well as Britain, France and Portugal.
Italian police said they had seized poisons, remote ignition devices for explosives, and manuals on guerrilla warfare and how to produce explosives.
The suspects are also accused of illegal immigration, falsifying identity documents and helping to hide people sought for terrorist activity.
In Britain, the Metropolitan Police extradition unit arrested a 34-year-old man in Croydon, and a 53-year-old man in Manchester.
British police said: "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 jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Italian police said the main cell was based in the northern region of Lombardy, and that intercepted phone calls had indicated the roots of militancy in the group dated back as far as 1998. The 20 suspects arrested were primarily Tunisian.
The group allegedly exhibited signs of caution, with one member saying, "things are being done with extreme calm, haste does not bring the desired results," according to a transcript of one of the intercepted calls.
"Once more, the central role of Milan and Lombardy in the panorama of Islamic militants has been confirmed," the Italian military police said in a statement.
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