Authorities expels four Moroccan suspected jihadists

Italy said on Monday it is expelling four Bologna-based Moroccans suspected of promoting jihadism, days after raising its security alert level following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris.

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano signed expulsion warrants for the four, who he said had been under surveillance for some time. They allegedly used the Internet to circulate jihadist propaganda, manuals on carrying out attacks, and songs celebrating acts of martyrdom.

Countries across Europe have ramped up security after the attacks in Paris, which killed 130 - France's worst civilian death toll since World War Two. In Belgium, the capital is on lock down as police hunt a suspect.

Italy, which Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said earlier this month has expelled 55 suspected militants in the past year, has raised its security alert to 2, the highest possible in the absence of a direct attack on the country.

Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said last week that, acting on information provided by the United States, security forces were looking for five people suspected of planning possible attacks.