GUARDIA Civil officers in Pamplona have arrested an Algerian national believed to have been financing yihad cells back in his native country.

The accused, Sennia Rabah, has had an international arrest warrant hanging over him from Italian authorities, relating to forgery of ID documents.

An international police operation led by the Guardia di Finanzas in Milan, involving officers in France, Austria, Italy and Spain, led to the arrest last week of ten people.

Rabah's home in Pamplona was raided and various mobile telephones, documents and diaries seized, all of which are being investigated.

He will shortly be extradited to Italy for trial if found guilty.

Investigations started in 2007 on an international basis, led by the Guardia di Finanzas, when it came to light that a fundamentalist Islamic terrorist cell was operating in Italy and had links with the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, and Algeria, among other countries.

They were mostly financed by criminal activities such as burglaries and other thefts, amassing around a million euros in three years.

The money was transferred from Italy to Algeria in quantities not exceeding the legal limit of 10,000 euros, so as not to raise suspicion.

According to police behind the investigation named 'Special Hajj', the cell's members used various identities and even hid their Muslim faith so as not to be noticed among other members of society.

This involved such outlawed practices as drinking alcohol and eating pork.