Religion
Vatican May Have Been Targeted by Al-Qaeda Supsects
In this undated photo, an al-Qaeda-linked fighter exercises at an unknown training camp in Syria. (AP Photo)
(Independent) – Islamic extremists suspected over a bomb attack in a Pakistani market that killed more than 100 people had also planned an attack against the Vatican in 2010, Italian prosecutors said.
Wiretaps indicated the suspects were planning a bomb attack at the Vatican and that a suicide bomber had arrived in Rome, prosecutor Mauro Mura told a press conference in Cagliari, Sardinia.
Mr Mura said the plans never went further and the bomber left Italy, though it was not clear why. He said the wiretaps gave “signals of some preparation for a possible attack”.
Italian police said they were arresting 18 suspected extremists, including two purported bodyguards for Osama bin Laden, who allegedly staged attacks in Pakistan and sought to topple the Pakistani government.
