Italian police arrest 18 suspects citing al Qaeda link

Rome: Italian police on Friday arrested 18 people, including some Pakistanis, in a "vast" operation against a group allegedly inspired by the al Qaeda.

The group was based on the island of Sardinia and was plotting attacks against Pakistan's government and US forces in Afghanistan, according to police.

Most of the arrests were made in Sardinia but the operation covered seven Italian provinces, police said.

Some of the those arrested are alleged to be responsible for terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including an attack in 2009 on a market in the northwest frontier city of Peshawar that killed more than 100 people, according to the police.