Italian police arrested six people today suspected of providing financial support to Muslim militants and of having links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group.
More than 170 police searched 40 houses in and around Italy's financial capital Milan "as part of a massive operation against international terrorism", the police said.
An official from the finance police said a seventh man was still being hunted.
"These aren't the people who plant bombs. These are supporters who were involved in all sorts of criminal activities," he said. The official said the six suspects in custody were members of an extremist Tunisian movement.
The group was also suspected of seeking recruits among Italy's growing community of illegal immigrants, with an eye to sending them abroad for training with militant organisations.
Italian police have made numerous crackdowns on suspected Muslim militants in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the United States in 2001. Washington believes a Milan mosque acted as a main European logistics base for al-Qaeda.
The mosque denied the accusations and many of those arrested by Italy in connection with its terror investigations were later released without charge.