MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, local media reported that Italian police arrested two Afghanis in the southern Italian city of Bari on suspicion of being part of a terror group that planned to strike at civilian, government and military targets in France, Belgium and Britain.
"Daesh terror cells have chosen Italy for their logistic base or reception camp to assist others. That is why we have avoided terror attacks in the country. They exploited established migrant routes to smuggle terrorists into the country and into Europe," Claudio d'Amico said.
The Islamists, reportedly arrested by police in Bari, confirmed plans to use Italy as a base, the politician stressed. According to him, other alleged jihadists, detained after the deadly attacks in European capitals, also admitted they had been staying in Italy.
"The problem is that the Italian government was allowing in thousands of illegal, undocumented migrants, along with terrorists who set their base in our country, in our migrant reception centers," Claudio d'Amico said.
Last week, EU police Europol said it did not rule out the possibility of new terror attacks in Europe, after bombings in Brussels killed 31 people in March and a series of terrorist attacks resulted in deaths of 130 people in Paris last November.
The Daesh group, which claimed responsibility for the attacks in both Paris and Brussels, is outlawed in many countries, including Russia.
