Four of the suspects are accused of having “formed a terrorist association of Salafist-jihadist inspiration” through which they promoted Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, a statement said.

The fifth, a young man, was said to be undergoing a radicalisation process under the guidance of his sister, a young Pakistani woman who grew up in the northern city of Bologna and who was the main suspect.

Five arrest warrants were issued by prosecutors in Bologna, but one man had already fled.

The young man, who grew up in Milan, is believed to have joined militants operating in the Horn of Africa, the statement said.

It warned the cell showed “the ever-increasing use of young people, often minors, who are particularly fascinated by propaganda and who quickly become tools for the dissemination of the message, as well as being unpredictable in their potential transition to action and therefore even more dangerous.”