Italian police smash suspected Algerian terrorist cell

Italian police say they have smashed an Algerian Islamic fundamentalist cell that has given logistical support to suspected militants in Algeria.

A police spokesman says as many as six people have either been arrested or are in the process of being served with arrest warrants.

One of the suspects was found in Switzerland.

A statement said the cell "financed and gave logistical support to Islamic terrorism responsible for massacres in Algeria".

A news conference was scheduled for later on Monday to provide more details.

It was the second such operation in Italy in little more than two months.

In July, police arrested four suspected members of an armed Algerian group linked to Al Qaeda, accused of preparing terrorist operations in Algeria and in Iraq.

The July arrests involved suspected members of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), Algeria's largest outlawed rebel movement.

It has rejected an amnesty offered by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika that aimed at ending years of bloodshed during which 200,000 people have died.

It is not clear if today's police operation involves suspected members of the same group.

- Reuters