Italian terror raid, An Islamic terror cell tied to Osama bin Laden plotted a 2010 attack on the Vatican — even importing a suicide bomber to Rome before scuttling the attack, officials said Friday
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Wiretapped conversations during a six-year probe of the Al Qaeda jihadists exposed chatter about a bombing during the period when Pope Benedict headed the Catholic Church, according to Italian investigators.
The details emerged as authorities busted the Sardinia-based group of Pakistani and Afghan nationals, arresting nine alleged extremists while targeting another dozen terror suspects.
The cell included two close aides to 9/11 attack mastermind bin Laden, an Italian counter-terrorist police official told NBC News.
“This was one of the most important operations we ever conducted,” said Mario Carta, the official who led the raid. “We are talking people with connections with Al Qaeda at the highest level.”
One of the terrorist suspects was caught boasting during a wiretapped conversation that bin Laden had personally dispatched him to Italy.Other recorded talks provided Italian investigators with “signals of some preparation” for an attack on the Vatican, authorities said.
During discussions of “a big jihad in Italy,” the plotters referred to “baba” — a possible code word for the pope, Reuters reported.
The Italian news agency ANSA said the terror cell actually brought two suicide bombers to Rome, but decided to cancel their plans because of Italian police activity.
Italian prosecutor Mauro Muro, without providing details, told a news conference that the Pakistani bomber simply left Italy.
The group is suspected in an October 2009 explosion that killed more than 100 people in a Pakistani market, and officials believe they were also raising money in Italy that was sent to support Pakistani terrorists.From what it appears, this concerns a hypothesis that dates from 2010 which didn’t occur,” said the Rev. Federico Lombardi. “It has therefore no relevance today, and no reason for particular concern.”
Pope Benedict raised the hackles of many in the Muslim world with a 2006 speech where he quoted a Byzantine emperor who described some of the prophet Muhammad’s teachings as “evil and inhuman.”
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The details emerged as authorities busted the Sardinia-based group of Pakistani and Afghan nationals, arresting nine alleged extremists while targeting another dozen terror suspects.
The cell included two close aides to 9/11 attack mastermind bin Laden, an Italian counter-terrorist police official told NBC News.
“This was one of the most important operations we ever conducted,” said Mario Carta, the official who led the raid. “We are talking people with connections with Al Qaeda at the highest level.”
One of the terrorist suspects was caught boasting during a wiretapped conversation that bin Laden had personally dispatched him to Italy.Other recorded talks provided Italian investigators with “signals of some preparation” for an attack on the Vatican, authorities said.
During discussions of “a big jihad in Italy,” the plotters referred to “baba” — a possible code word for the pope, Reuters reported.
The Italian news agency ANSA said the terror cell actually brought two suicide bombers to Rome, but decided to cancel their plans because of Italian police activity.
Italian prosecutor Mauro Muro, without providing details, told a news conference that the Pakistani bomber simply left Italy.
The group is suspected in an October 2009 explosion that killed more than 100 people in a Pakistani market, and officials believe they were also raising money in Italy that was sent to support Pakistani terrorists.From what it appears, this concerns a hypothesis that dates from 2010 which didn’t occur,” said the Rev. Federico Lombardi. “It has therefore no relevance today, and no reason for particular concern.”
Pope Benedict raised the hackles of many in the Muslim world with a 2006 speech where he quoted a Byzantine emperor who described some of the prophet Muhammad’s teachings as “evil and inhuman.”
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