Italy deported Algerian Yamine Bouhrama on Sunday after his prison term ended, saying he had been part of a group that tried to commit acts of terrorism on a scale exceeding the London and Madrid bombings.
Bouhrama was released from prison on Sunday after serving a six year sentence for association with the aim of international terrorism and fraud offences, the Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that he was immediately repatriated.
It said prior to his arrest in 2005 he had formed a militant group in Italy connected to al-Qaeda.
"This cell was ready to commit acts of terrorism on an even more devastating level than those carried out at the time by the same group in Spain and in Britain," the ministry said.
European countries have grappled with militant threats for years, regularly arresting individuals or groups suspected of planning attacks some fear could mirror the bombings of Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005 which killed more than 200 people.
