'Italy potential ISIS target' say secret services

(ANSA) - Rome, February 27 - Italy is a "potential target" of Islamic terrorism because of its "symbolic value as the epicenter of Christianity", Italy's intelligence services told parliament Friday. The secret services have not detected any "activities or plans" to conduct Islamic terrorist attacks in Italy so far, they said. However, the peninsula could become a "fallback" for extremists returning to Europe after fighting with Islamic State (ISIS) and other extremist groups in Iraq and Syria, the report said.
    There was a "significant increase" in the flow of aspiring combatants from Europe to the Middle East in 2014, according to the report.
    At least 3,000 fighters left from Europe, of whom over 500 from the Balkans. "The specific threat to Italy must be evaluated not only in terms of sporadic national cases but also and most importantly by keeping in mind the possibility that extremists who left for Syria from other European countries could fall back on Italy," the report ssaid.
    This is due to "relationships developed in the field between militants of different nationalities".