Alleged jihadist couple in Italy 'plaed to take kids to Syria'

The couple were arrested in the Lombardy province of Lecco, which lies on the easte shore of Lake Como, as part of an investigation between the anti-terror squad, Digos, and Ros, or Special Operations Group, an organization which fights organized crime.

The pair allegedly plaed to join a 23-year-old Moroccan man, living in Varese, who is the brother of a “foreign fighter” deported from Italy in January 2015, police said in a statement.

The aspiring jihadists were also allegedly in contact with another married couple who left Lecco for Syria in February 2015.

A total of six arrest warrants were issued as part of the Digos-Ros operation.

More details will be revealed at a news conference in Milan at 11.30am CET.

The latest arrests come just days after James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence, said there were dormant Isis cells in Italy, German and the UK.

Read more: How real is the threat from dormant Isis cells in Italy?