Four Moroccan suspected of fomenting terrorist attacks in Italy and internationally and of spreading jihad have been deported, interior minister Angelino Alfano said in a statement on Monday.
"I signed this decree for reasons of national security," Alfano said. The four "adhered to and were committed to spreading violent extremism".
"These results show our security systems are working. By preventing attacks we are aiming to lower the risk, although we can never eliminate it," said Alfano.
Anti-terrorism police in the northern Italian city of Bologna had been monitoring the four suspects "for some time", the statement said.
One of the suspects was the group's IT expert who used the Internet to disseminate jihadist texts, chants celebrating suicide attacks and manuals on how to carry out violent attacks, together with another of the suspects, Alfano said in the statement.
The third suspect searched the Internet for material spreading hatred for the West and celebrating Islamist violence, while a fourth alleged member of the group concerned himself with "the operational training" of his companions, according to Alfano.
The Italian government had already expelled "dozens of subjects who had been radicalized" from Italy, including radicalized imams, Alfano in an interview with Sky Tg24 on Sunday.
He called for calm in Italy where tensions are high after the 13 November attacks in Paris which killed 130 people, claimed by the Islamic State militant group and a warning of possible attacks on several landmarks.
Italy raised its security levels after the Paris attacks and last Thursday foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni said Italy was searching for five terrorist suspects after a warning from US authorities of possible attacks on targets including St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and two sites in Milan: the city’s main cathedral and La Scala opera house.
In just over two weeks, Rome is expected to welcome an estimated 33 million pilgrims and tourists to the city to celebrate the pope’s year of mercy, also known as the jubilee, which begins on 8 December.
