ROME, (Reuters) – Italian police arrested three Algerians on Friday who are suspected of being members of an extremist group with links to al Qaeda, a police spokesman said.

The men are being held in the southern port city of Naples on suspicion of breaching international terrorism laws and carrying false documents, the spokesman said.

He added that magistrates believed they were part of a cell set up by the Algerian Salafist movement, which has links with Osama bin Laden”s Al Qaeda group.

Friday”s arrests followed the detention last month of three other Algerians suspected of contact with the Salafist movement.

All three were originally held on terrorism charges, but only one of the three is still being investigated for terrorism links.

Italy, a U.S. ally with troops in Iraq, has received numerous Internet threats purported to be from Islamic militants, who have vowed to strike Italian interests.