Tunisian IS supporter deported from Italy

Rome, Feb 16 : Italian authorities have expelled a Tunisian accused of being a supporter of the Islamic State jihadist group, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Italian police traced the suspect to the eastern Italian city of Ravenna, where he was arrested on January 31 and held in an expulsion centre until his deportation, the ministry said.

Tunisian police alerted their Italian counterparts to the 23-year-old Tunisian, who allegedly has ties to IS, the ministry said.

The Tunisian's expulsion brings to 18 the number of suspected Islamic extremists deported from Italy this year, said the ministry, adding that a total of 255 religious extremists have been expelled from the country since January 2015.