Italian police smashed on Monday an alleged terrorist cell based in Milan, raiding the homes and businesses of 11 Algerian nationals with suspected terror links, local media reported. Police said the 11 men were suspected of having ties to a fundamentalist militant group known as the Salafist Group for Calland Combat.Investigators said some of the men were under investigation for international terrorism and some were already in jail on other charges. They added that some of the Algerians were included on terror suspect lists drawn up by the European Union, the United States and the United Nations. The Algerians were accused of sending money to the Salafist Group - known by its French initials GSPC - which is fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in Algeria and has declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network.
The offices searched on Monday included information technology firms and clothing import and export businesses owned or run by some of the suspects. Investigators said they found evidence of money transfers to Belgium, the United Kingdom and Spain. They also discovered a warehouse believed to be the cell's logistic base.