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Italy crackdown finds terror network

Pope John Paul II and his basilica are considered obvious targets, promting the use of metal detectors at the Vatican

By CNN Senior Correspondent Jim Bittermann

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Whether inspecting the trunks of cars in front of the Vatican or raiding resort homes in the Alps, Italian police -- assisted by a two-week-old anti-terrorism law -- are carrying out an unprecedented security crackdown.

And the results are startling. After searches and arrests of suspected terrorists, authorities have come to the conclusion that Italy has been a support base for terrorist operations -- providing false documents, money and other sorts of logistics.

In his most extensive interview to date, Italian intelligence services chief Franco Frattini shared his findings with CNN, revealing a terrorist network under construction for years.

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"We have been discovering, for example, people who have been living in a legal way in Italy. In some cases they have Italian citizenship through marriage. They were not doing anything strange in Italy, but they were preparing for attacks abroad," Frattini said.

Four suspected terrorists were arrested in Milan, charged with helping recruit al Qaeda operatives in Europe.

The Italian security chief said contrary to newspaper reports, there has been no specific threat to the Vatican, but the faithful now pass through metal detectors on their way to Mass because Pope John Paul II and his basilica are obvious targets.

There have been other specific threats: A suspected plot to blow up a stretch of the Italian highway system led to an intense search for a truck bomb -- and massive weekend traffic jams.

As elsewhere in Europe, the Italians have put the Islamic community under close surveillance -- with the rationale that some Islamic cultural centres have been frequented by suspected terrorists. The assistant to the imam of the Islamic cultural centre in Milan was arrested last weekend.

Frattini: People living legally in Italy "were preparing for attacks abroad"

But Frattini said there are no plans to shut down the center. And he told CNN that his forces are thoroughly checking through a list of Italian residents found in the former house of the Taliban defense minister in Kabul.

"This triggered an immediate search," Frattini said. "Many of these people were dormant agents. They have already fled, but we and all the other allies are pursuing them."

And so searching for terrorists in far away places has led to fallout in Italy, just as elsewhere in Europe.

The globalization of terrorism is not new, but Italian officials say the atmosphere has now changed.

The U.S.-led effort in Afghanistan has provided the perfect opportunity tighten the laws and go global to pursue terrorism at home.