Rome ? The Italian government approved a package of anti-terrorism measures Friday that allows authorities to take DNA samples of suspects and makes it a specific crime to recruit and train people for terrorism.

Ministers from Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right coalition approved the measures with little criticism from the opposition a day after a second series of attacks this month in London’s Underground.

The new measures also would increase security on Italy’s transport system, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said.

“Islamic terrorists, unlike us Westerners, have long memories: they launch a threat and then they might sit on it for two, three, four years and when we least expect it, the threat becomes real,” Pisanu told reporters.

Internet threats have mentioned Italy as a possible target of future attacks – including one note claiming responsibility for the July 7 suicide bombings in London.

Italy’s minister of defense, Antonio Martino, said Friday that Italian intelligence believed that new threats against Italy by an al-Qaida-linked group were “credible” but “repetitive,” according to news agency reports.

A statement posted Friday on an Islamic Web site in the name of the Abu Hafs al Masri Brigades claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attacks in London and threatened more attacks in Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Italy.

The group also claimed responsibility for the July 7 bombings in London. However, the authenticity of the statements could not be verified and terror experts have cast doubt on the group’s claims, noting most are unsubstantiated and some clearly fakes.

Past threats have cited Italy’s support of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and its deployment of troops there following the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

Pisanu said the measures, which were drawn up after the July 7 bombings, would make it a crime to train people to prepare or use explosives without government authorization and would allow authorities to collect saliva samples from suspects for DNA testing.

Several countries in Europe have passed similar DNA laws, including the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden.

Under the new laws, Italian authorities also would have the power to detain suspects for up to 24 hours without charges. Until now, suspects could be held up to 12 hours without charges.

The measures will take effect as soon as they are signed by the president.

Green party lawmaker Paolo Cento criticized the plan in general, and the measure allowing for the immediate expulsion of suspects in particular, calling it “especially odious and discriminatory.”