Italian minister gets bullets, threats in letter signed Islamic State

ROME - Italian Justice Minister Andrea Orlando received bullets and a threatening letter on Thursday, written in Arabic and purporting to be from Islamic State, a ministry spokeswoman said.

She said the letter was signed "ISIS", an acronym for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the hardline Islamist group that has proclaimed a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.

Delivered to the ministry in Rome along with two bullets for a Kalashnikov, the letter contained the phrase: "We will come to Rome and cut off your head. God is great," the spokeswoman said.

The letter and bullets have been sent for analysis along with the envelope they arrived in, which was addressed to the minister and stencilled in English.