Suspected Tunisian terrorist on the run from French psychiatric centre caught in Italy

Police have arrested an alleged Tunisian terrorist in Italy. Polizia di Stato/Twitter

Police in Italy have arrested a suspected terrorist who has been on the run since escaping from a psychiatric facility in France.

He has been under investigation in France for allegedly condoning the actions of ISIS fanatic Mohamed Merah, who killed seven people, including three children, in a series of shootings in Toulouse and Montauban in 2012.

The man, who has not been named, escaped from an institution in Bassens on May 29 and is believed to have entered Italy a few days later.

Armed police raided an apartment in Terracina, in the province of Latina, and arrested him.

The man is being investigated for condoning terrorism and aggravated threats.

The French authorities described him as a "dangerous" person.

The investigation, conducted by the Latina police and terrorism specialists, began last May after footage showed him passing through the railway stations of Genoa, Rome and Naples.

He was eventually apprehended after he sent a series of emails to the Inspectorate General of the National Transalpine Police that contained alleged threats to French nationals and government authorities claiming he wanted "to end their lives by killing people".

Investigators identified the area from where the emails were sent enabling the police to locate his hiding place.

He was taken into custody by the International Police Cooperation Centre in Modane and has been handed over to the transalpine authorities.