A fundamentalist Islamic group has given Italy an ultimatum to pull its troops out of Iraq within a month or face a terrorist campaign on its territory, Italian media reported Monday.

The threat was contained in a message posted on the internet by the Abu Hafs al-Masri group, which on July 9 claimed responsibility for the terrorist bomb attacks in London.

Experts believe this new threat may be part of a media campaign to incite fear in European countries which have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The threat was also addressed to Britain, Denmark and "other countries which still have troops deployed on Iraqi territory."

If these countries do not pull out their troops by the deadline, the terrorist group promised to "bring a bloody and savage war directly to the heart of Europe," the message said.

This was not the first time that the al-Masri group has threatened Italy. On Aug. 29 of last year a similar message was posted on the Internet, announcing an attack on Italy.

The July 7 terrorist attacks on London public transport killed 56 people and wounded more than 700 others.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2005)