Italian police arrested three men suspected of subversive activity linked to the Red Brigades terrorist group in a pre-dawn swoop today.

Italian police arrested a suspected member of the Red Brigades terror group today, two days after finding some 220lbs of explosives in an alleged hideout of the group.

Italian police today arrested six alleged Red Brigades terrorists suspected of killing a Labour Ministry consultant in 1999 – the first attack by the left-wing terrorist group in more than a decade, news reports said.

A passenger on a train heading to Florence Sunday opened fire on police who had asked to see identity documents, killing one officer and wounding another, state television said.