Italian police arrest seven in anarchist cell over high-speed rail sabotage
Italian police on Tuesday arrested seven people suspected of forming an anarchist terrorist cell responsible for a February bombing of the Rome-Florence high-speed railway that caused 455,000 euros in damage.
The arrests
Italian authorities carried out seven arrests across the country on Tuesday, with five suspects jailed and two placed under house arrest. The operation, led by the Rome Digos and coordinated with the Direzione Centrale della Polizia di Prevenzione, targeted an anarchist terrorist cell. The group is accused of forming an association with terrorist and subversive aims under article 270 bis of the Italian penal code. Two of the arrested are specifically charged with aiding and abetting an attack on a public utility, interrupting public service, and incitement to crime, aggravated by terrorist intent. Searches were conducted in Milan, Bologna, Naples, Turin, Terni, and Rieti, including at the anarchist center Bencivenga Occupato in Rome.
The February attack
The sabotage occurred on the Rome-Florence high-speed line on 14 February 2026. Homemade but effective explosives were used, causing severe infrastructure damage. The restoration cost is estimated at 455,000 euros. The attack caused significant disruptions to train services across Italy. A second sabotage on the Rome-Naples line was also reportedly carried out.
Claim of responsibility
The attacks were claimed on the website ispiraazione.noblogs.org, created months before. The statement explicitly linked the actions to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and expressed anti-militarist motives.
The group also referenced participation in Palestine solidarity mobilizations, blockades of roads and ports, and station invasions.Fire on the Olympics! No travel today.
Network and ideology
Investigators describe the cell as organized according to methods known in the anarchist movement, with a base in Rome and connections in Bologna, Forlì-Cesena, Milan, and Naples. The group's objectives included maintaining the anarco-insurrectionist mobilization against the 41bis prison regime, particularly in support of anarchist prisoner Alfredo Cospito.
