9 suspected terrorists expelled from Italy: minister

Italy has expelled nine suspected terrorists since the end of December, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told a press conference in Rome on Sunday.

"The expelled people, five Tunisians, one Turkish, one Egyptian, one Moroccan and one Pakistani, were in possession of a residency permit since long and had been living in Italy for years," Alfano said.

Two of them had also involved their families in the terrorist network with the intention of sending them to fight in Syria, he explained.

"Italy will continue to be very tough as regards expulsions," Alfano stressed, adding that the overall number of people suspected of terrorist activities in the country has raised to "a lot more than 100."

He said that foreign fighters, meaning people who are not currently in Italy but have had links with the country in different ways, have been counted to be 59, of which five are Italian nationals left for Syria.

"Italy has made all what was necessary to prevent the terrorist menace to the extent possible," Alfano told the press conference.

In recent years, Italy has been the destination of countless flows of boat migrants from North Africa and the Middle East.

On Sunday, 417 boat migrants were rescued and taken to Calabria, a region in southern Italy, according to media reports. Another migrant reportedly died during the perilous crossing.

The Mediterranean country has further raised its national terror threat alert level following a raid on suspected terrorists throughout Europe which came after the two shootings that killed 17 people in Paris earlier this month. Endit