ROME (voa) – Italian police say they have detained six suspected terrorists who were overheard discussing guns, bombs and terrorist training camps.
The six men arrested in Rome were identified as a Pakistani, three Iraqis, an Algerian and a Tunisian. They are being charged with subversive association.
Police in the Italian capital say they are looking for several more suspects.
One of the men was taken into custody at Rome’s Fiumicino airport after arriving on a flight from Saudi Arabia. Police say they have videos, political pamphlets, names and telephone numbers that may link the suspects to extremist Islamic groups.
Police used telephone taps and electronic listening devices in a mosque and a travel agency in Rome during a seven-month investigation that led to Friday’s arrests.
Italian newspapers have published what they say are transcripts of conversations recorded at the mosque, during which one of the suspects says he would like to kill President Bush. Police say no details of any actual plan to kill the U.S. president were mentioned.
Italy has been on high alert since the September 11 terrorist attacks, and Western intelligence officials believe Rome is the European headquarters of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network.
Last month, Italian police detained a group of Moroccans suspected of plotting an attack on the U.S. embassy in Rome.
