Communist Brigades

The Communist Brigades (BC) were a left-wing terrorist group with nearly a hundred members active in Northern Italy. Like many other left-wing terrorist groups, it grew from legal left-wing groups. It was not so much a strict organization as a name used by militants to claim attacks. Its members embraced a variety of not necessarily connected goals, including fighting against heroin trafficking and stopping illegal work. The BC also attacked targets including law enforcement, prisons, business executives, and the center-right political party, the Christian Democrats. The group split up over members' differing opinions on how to organize the armed struggle. Some members formed the more-organized Communist Combat Formations beginning in 1977; others joined Prima Linea or other left-wing groups.