From AZ By Robert Firth, Reuters
Seven people have been arrested in Italy over suspected sabotage attacks on high-speed railway lines during the Winter Olympics earlier this year.
Italian police said on Tuesday that the suspects, believed to belong to an anarchist militant network, were detained on suspicion of terrorism-related offences.
The attack on the Rome–Florence high-speed rail line on 14 February caused €455,000 (£390,000) worth of damage and led to train delays of more than an hour during the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics.
Explosives used in railway attack
According to investigators, the sabotage was carried out using improvised explosive devices.
Police said the anarchist group claimed responsibility for the attack, as well as a separate attack carried out at the same time on the Rome–Naples line, in posts published on an Italian-language blog created a few months before the incident.
An English translation of a post dated 20 February states that the group sabotaged the "Milan-Cortina railway line" on the night of 13 February.
“We set fire to and damaged cables along the tracks, effectively blocking several high-speed lines,” the post reads.
“These actions are our contribution to the warm welcome and good wishes for this edition of the Winter Olympic Games.”
The post added that the attack “ultimately expresses our anger at the presence… of ICE agents” at the event.
Personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were present at the Milano Cortina Olympics. Their role at the event was limited to protecting the American delegation and they were not involved in immigration enforcement.
Manifesto claims further sabotage
In a 40-page political manifesto written in Italian and posted on the same website on Monday, the group also claimed responsibility for sabotaging the Transalpine Pipeline, which transports oil from the port of Trieste in Italy to refineries across central Europe.
Damage to a transmission pylon in March put supplies of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel to Germany’s largest oil refinery at risk for several days.
The manifesto, titled A Proposal for War, criticises capitalism and contemporary Western societies and advocates attacks against structures that sustain state and economic power.
According to police, the group was based in Rome but maintained links with other cells in Bologna, Milan and Naples.
Rome prosecutors have issued a number of search warrants against other suspects under investigation in several Italian cities.
Meloni praises police operation
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked law enforcement agencies for their work in tracking down and dismantling the “anarcho-insurrectionist network”.
Writing on X, she said the police operation had delivered “a heavy blow to those who believe they can threaten the nation's security, target strategic infrastructure and call into question the principles of democratic coexistence.”
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