Italy Sees Link to Iraq Terror

Italy has become a departure point for suicide attackers linked to Al Qaeda and active against U.S.-led forces in Iraq, an Italian intelligence report released Tuesday says.

The report from the Italian secret services says many of the extremists based in Italy have links to North African terrorist groups and to Al Qaeda operatives believed active in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

The report says Italian cells seeking to recruit suicide attackers mainly are based in Milan and other northern cities. Regions such as Tuscany in the north and Campania in the south also are considered fertile ground for extremists, it says.

It does not specify any attacks in Iraq that might have been carried out by people coming from Italy.