Risk of terror attacks in Italy growing

Rome, March 3: The threat of Islamist terror attacks in Italy is rising, the country's intelligence services have said in their annual report.

New jihadi recruits to the Islamic State group pose a great risks, said the report submitted to parliament on Wednesday.

Although no specific terror plans have been detected, jihadist Internet chat rooms were increasingly visited by "often very young" extremists living in Italy, said the 130-page report.

"The risk of new actions on European territory is considered high," it said. These could be "sensational attacks in the style of the Paris ones."

The Paris terror attacks of November 2015 had probably "inaugurated a strategy of attack on the West that is destined to increase", the report added.

Italy is seen as an enemy for its relations with the US and Israel and its commitment to fighting terrorism, according to the report.

Young extremists who might stage attacks are "swayed by the group or by charismatic individuals" in the online jihadist chat rooms they frequent, it said.

"They are more vulnerable to radicalisation due to identity crises, feelings of marginalisation and paranoid views of society's rules."

The report highlighted the danger of Muslim inmates being radicalised while serving prison sentences for crimes not related to terrorism, and also the growing number of women and entire families recruited to jihad.

Most female jihadists are the brides of foreign fighters, who they have often met on the Internet and travel to wed in the war zones of Iraq and Syria.

Some of the women proselytise, recruit, provide logistical and operational support for IS and other jihadist groups as well, the report said.

IANS