About 170 Italian police have launched dawn raids in a swoop aimed at a group suspected of links to the al-Qaeda network. At least six people – thought to be five Tunisians and a Moroccan – have been arrested in the raids, which took place in and around the northern city of Milan. The raids were carried out by financial police, who targeted about 40 sites, including a mosque. An imam was said to be among those detained. The raids were “were part of a major operation against international terrorism” co-ordinated by Milan prosecutor Luigi Orsi, said a police statement. The suspects are accused of providing financial and logistical support to a militant Algerian group, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). A judicial source said a seventh suspect was still being sought. The charges against them are said to include abetting and financing a terrorist organisation, false accounting, involvement in illegal immigration, receiving counterfeit documents and trafficking in stolen cars. Full Story
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