Italy beefs up security on terror concerns

(ANSA) - Rome, July 14 - Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Thursday that Italy has upped its security measures amid heightened concerns about terrorism. He pointed to "a resurgence of jihadist threats" and said preventive action is ongoing in gathering places, railway and other public transport terminals, at airport and maritime borders, and any other locations deemed to attract outgoing or returning foreign fighters.
    Security forces are also carrying out targeted checks in jails, smaller airports, seaports, railways, and buses, Alfano said. As well, the minister said that since January 1 last year he has signed a total of 99 deportation orders against potentially dangerous foreigners. The minister noted he is relying on information from the Committee for Strategic Anti-Terrorism Analysis (CASA), which is "boosting information exchange among national and foreign intelligence services and police." The country must maintain a high level of alert and "strengthen security measures across the entire national territory", Alfano told a meeting of the national security and public order committee in which law enforcement, intelligence, and military chiefs of staff took part.