ROME (AFP) - A Macedonian man suspected of recruiting militants for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group was arrested on Friday (Feb 26) in north-east Italy, the police said.

The suspect, detained near Venice, was "in charge of selecting and recruiting aspiring jihadists... who were then to be passed on to a Bosnian imam to be radicalised, enrolled in a terrorist organisation and transferred to a Middle Eastern war zone", investigators said.

Two other Macedonians were recently expelled from Italy over their alleged involvement in a militant recruitment drive.

The pair are among dozens of suspected Islamist radicals to have been banished from the country over the past year.

Italy appears to have less of a problem with homegrown militants than the likes of France or Belgium, with only a small number of Italians estimated to have travelled to Syria to fight alongside ISIS or other groups.