Four suspected jihadists have been arrested after they were believed to have been part of a terror cell that made threats against the Pope.
The four Kosovan men, three of whom were arrested in Italy and one in Kosovo, are suspected of “condoning terrorism” and “inciting racial hatred”, according to Italian police officials.
While none of the four appeared to have been active in any specific threat, authorities said they had been active online in promoting their ideology and described them as “highly dangerous”.
Among the alleged threats found online, prosecutors said the most disturbing messages were aimed at Pope Francis.
"Remember there won't be any pope after this one. This is the last. Don't forget what I am telling you," chief prosecutor Tommaso Buonanno told the Associated Press.
"They were threatening the Pope, celebrating the recent attacks in Paris and threatening the former US ambassador to Kosovo," Carmine Esposito, Brescia’s police chief, at the centre of the investigation, told Rai Tre.
Italy has increased its security in the wake of the Paris attacks that killed 130 people. Four Moroccans were expelled from the country last week.
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