Italy police 'break terror cell'

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Italian police say they have uncovered an Islamist group believed to be providing support for suspected militants in Algeria.

A police spokesman said six people had been arrested or were being served with arrest warrants.

Most of the arrests were executed around Milan, in northern Italy. One suspect was found in Switzerland.

Police say they believe the group was giving financial and logistical support to Islamic terrorist groups.

Italian police spokesman Lt Col Domenico Grimaldi told a news conference that the group was part of a wider network operating across much of Europe, and was connected to al Qaeda.

The arrests are part of an ongoing operation that began in 2003.

In July, Italian police arrested four men believed to have links to an Algerian group named the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).

In September, the GSPC is reported to have pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden.

The group was founded in the late 1990s with the aim of establishing an Islamic state in Algeria.