Hawzah News Agency - Morning police raids have led to the seizure of a cache of weapons including rocket launchers and the arrests of twelve suspects who praised Nazism.

Italian police have foiled a plan by right-wing extremists to blow up the Colle Val d'Elsa mosque, in Siena in central Italy according to reports by local media.

Among the 12 suspects were a father and son duo, 60 and 22, respectively, who intended to blow up the mosque by sabotaging its gas pipelines.

The members of the alleged terrorist plot, according to investigators, regularly praised Nazism and glorified racial hatred with police finding extremist paraphernalia in morning raids of the suspect’s houses. 

A 60-year-old suspect, Andrea Chesi, works for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, an Italian bank. Chesi’s Facebook profile features several pictures of him using or wearing clothing with Nazi symbols.

During the raids police officers also found caches of weapons including knives, explosives, automatic guns and rocket launchers.