WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said on Thursday that six people were arrested in the country’s north for plans to carry out terrorist attacks in Italy.
“The leaders discussed the need to improve intelligence sharing with and within Europe in the wake of recent terrorist attacks, as well as the attack recently thwarted by Italian security forces,” the release said following the meeting between Biden and Renzi.
According to earlier media reports, six suspected extremists were arrested in the northern region of Lombardy. The detainees allegedly planned to join Daesh jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq.
A series of coordinated Daesh attacks in Paris in November claimed lives of 130 people, while Brussels attacks in March killed 31 people. The assaults prompted EU authorities to step up security measures and enhance the exchange of information between the bloc member countries.
In March, media reported, citing intelligence sources that some 400 militants had been trained by the Daesh, which is prohibited in a number of countries, including the United States and Russia, to carry out attacks in Europe.
