Far-left anarchist terrorists are suspected of a string of apparently coordinated sabotage attacks on Italian railway lines amid the opening of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
An investigation was launched by the Bologna prosecutor’s office, in conjunction with the DIGOS, Italy’s anti-terrorism police force, on Sunday morning into apparent infrastructure sabotage attacks that damaged rail lines in Bologna and Pesaro, disrupting trains across Italy.
According to a report from Corriere della Sera, investigators are currently considering it likely that anarchists were behind the attacks; however, there have yet to be any arrests or suspects publicly identified.
Prosecutors said that they are not ruling out any angle, including the potential of terrorist motivations.
Broadcaster RAI reports that a makeshift incendiary device was used to burn cables along the Bologna-Venice line near the Castel Maggiore station. A similar device that failed to trigger was found by forensic police on a line heading towards Ancona.
Meanwhile, a cabin used to operate a switch on the Ancona-Rimini line was struck in an apparent arson attack, requiring the local fire brigade to intervene.
The apparent coordination of the attacks suggests that a single group was behind the sabotage.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said, “If it is confirmed that the disruption on the high-speed line is the result of a premeditated attack, on the first day of the Olympics, let’s just say that someone wants to harm Italy.”
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport said that it plans on seeking financial damages from the perpetrators, saying in a statement: “Regarding the synchronized sabotages of railway lines that took place yesterday that caused delays and inconvenience to thousands of passengers for whom an investigation for terrorism has been opened, the MIT specifies that, once those responsible have been identified, the ministry will submit a claim for compensation for the millions in damages perpetrated.
“A decisive action is ready to put an end to such actions of unacceptable gravity that only create inconvenience to millions of Italians.”
The attacks are reminiscent of a series of arson attacks on France’s high-speed railway network just before the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Then-Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that the sabotage strikes were like the work of the “ultra-left”; however, authorities have yet to arrest those responsible.
The attack on Italy’s railways also came as thousands of leftists protested in Milan on Saturday against the Olympics, with some radical climate activists accusing the Games of being “unsustainable”.
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