An Italian judge on Wednesday convicted two North Africans of belonging to an extremist cell alleged to have planned attacks in Italy. A judge in Brescia handed down prison sentences of up to four years and eight months to Mohamed Rafik and Kamel Hamraoui, defense lawyer Ilaria Crema said. A third suspect was convicted on lesser charges and a fourth was acquitted, she said. The four had been granted a fast-track trial that allows for lesser sentences if suspects are convicted. Six other North Africans, believed to have belonged to the same cell, are being tried in nearby Cremona. Investigators have said the cell was connected to international terrorist networks for which it raised money, faked identity documents and recruited extremists to fight abroad. Members of the cell also discussed attacking Milan's subway and the cathedral in Cremona, authorities have alleged. The Associated Press quoted Crema as saying that the verdict was one of the first convictions under Italy's international terrorism charge, which was enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
