An Albanian 22-year-old was arrested at an airport in northern Italy after authorities suspected he was planning an attack at a shopping centre in Verona, Italian media reported, highlighting what experts described as an unusually rare case of jihadist radicalisation involving an Albanian national.

The man was arrested at Treviso airport on Aug. 10 after arriving from Tirana with his parents and was subsequently expelled from Italy on national security grounds, according to Italian reports.

Authorities found that he had searched online for information and materials related to the production of homemade bombs and had opened a bank account to transfer funds, the reports said. Investigators also found communications with people linked to Islamic fundamentalism and indications that he had considered travelling to territory controlled by Islamic State, according to the reports.

Italian newspaper Corriere del Veneto described the case as an unusual link between Albania and the jihadist terrorism that has targeted European cities over the past decade.

“This is an extremely rare case of Albanian radicalisation,” Vincenzo Pace, a former professor of sociology at the University of Padua, told the newspaper.

Pace said Albania's Muslim community had traditionally been associated with Sufi brotherhoods and religious practices shaped by Ottoman-era traditions, while decades of communist rule had imposed a ban on religious belief.

“People in Albania do not dream of an Islamic state,” Pace said, according to Corriere del Veneto.

Around 70% of Albania's population is Muslim, according to the newspaper, but Pace described religious practice in the country as generally moderate and peaceful. He added, however, that this did not rule out the possibility of isolated groups or individuals becoming radicalised online.

The case comes as Italian authorities continue to monitor suspected jihadist activity and online radicalisation, particularly among individuals believed to have developed contacts with extremist networks or shown an interest in travelling to conflict zones.

The investigation into the Albanian national remains ongoing, Italian media reported.