Italy busts int'l fundamentalist terror cell

Italian investigators have busted a fundamentalist terrorist cell based in Germany and operating in Italy, state police said in a statement Friday.

The cell, made up of 11 militants aged 20-30 and adhering to the Salafist sect of Islam, was "ready to carry out terrorist attacks," the statement said.

One suspect, a Congolese national aged 27, has been arrested on charges of conspiracy to carry out international terrorist acts, according to the Italian interior ministry.

The Congolese suspect had been a guest at a refugee center in Italy, had been radicalized, and was "willing to carry out terrorist attacks and to sacrifice his own life," police said.

The suspect also issued instructions to fellow cell member as to how to camouflage themselves within mainstream society by removing all physical indications of their religious beliefs, such as beards and certain kinds of clothing.

Investigators added the suspect has ties to slain Tunisian terrorist Anis Amri, who drove a hijacked lorry at high speed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin on December 19 last year, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more. Endit