Italy dismantled an alleged Islamist terrorist network with links to al-Qaeda on Friday, claiming the extremists had planned to attack the Vatican.
Italian authorities said the network included two men who were
bodyguards of Osama bin Laden before he was killed in a raid by US
special forces in Pakistan in 2011.
Early morning raids were carried out across the country. Nine suspects
were arrested, while another nine were being sought, three of whom were
believed to be in Italy. All were Pakistanis and Afghans.
But the people allegedly involved in the trafficking, in which Afghans and Pakistanis were smuggled into Europe, also had sympathies with Islamist extremism, investigators said.
The money earned from people trafficking was allegedly sent to extremist groups in Pakistan, including the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The principal members of the network were allegedly Khan Sultan Wali, a shopkeeper and long-term resident of the Sardinian port of Olbia, and an unidentified imam who lived in Brescia in northern Italy.
The extremist network may have been planning to launch a suicide bomber against the Vatican in 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI was head of the Roman Catholic Church, said Mauro Mura, a prosecutor in Cagliari, Sardinia.
Police intercepted telephone conversations between the suspects which gave “signals of some preparation for a possible attack” against the Holy See, he said.
In the wiretaps, the suspects discussed launching “a big jihad in Italy”, said Mario Carta, a senior police officer. They also used the word “baba” – a possible reference to the Pope.
The purported attack may have been called off after police in Sardinia conducted a raid on the home of one of the alleged al-Qaeda sympathisers in March 2010, possibly scaring off the extremists who planned to carry out the strike.
The Vatican said that since the alleged attack plan dated back five years, it had no particular concerns about the security of Pope Francis, who succeeded Benedict two years ago.
“From what it appears, this concerns a hypothesis that dates from 2010 which didn’t occur. It has therefore no relevance today and no reason for particular concern,” said Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has released several videos in which it says it aims to conquer Rome, enslave Christians and raise the black flag of the caliphate over St Peter’s Basilica.
While authorities say the videos are melodramatic propaganda, they acknowledge that the Pope has made himself a target with his outspoken comments on behalf of Christians being persecuted in the Middle East and his qualified support for air strikes against Isil in Syria and Iraq.
Two recent papal visits to Muslim countries – Albania and Turkey – passed without incident.
Pietro Paroli, who as Vatican secretary of state is the de facto prime minister of the tiny sovereign country, said: “We are all exposed and we are all afraid but the Pope is very tranquil in this, you just have to see him meeting people with great serenity.
“The biggest fear is that innocent people may be affected. But I don’t seem to perceive great concern in the Vatican, although of course you have to be careful.” The Italian government hailed the investigation as an “extraordinary operation”.
Angelino Alfano, the interior minister, said: “We have succeeded in not only dismantling a network of people traffickers but also (detaining) several individuals accused of conspiring with terrorist aims and others of involvement in attacks.”
Some of the men arrested or being sought are suspected of involvement in the October 2009 bombing of a bazaar in Peshawar, Pakistan, which left more than 100 dead and over 200 people injured.
They were also suspected of organising attacks against Pakistani police and security forces between March 2011 and November 2011, in which five people died.
Italian police said they had uncovered evidence that the attacks were planned and financed from Sardinia and that extremists based in Italy had taken part in them. The aim of the attacks was to foment an insurrection against Pakistan’s government and put a stop to its support for US forces in Afghanistan, prosecutors said.
Investigators said the suspects belonged to
“an organisation dedicated to transnational criminal activities inspired
by al-Qaeda and other radical organisations pursuing armed struggle
against the West and insurrection against the current government of
Pakistan”.
The arrest orders were the
culmination of a 10-year investigation that began with an inquiry into
illegal immigration on the island of Sardinia, more usually associated
with expensive villas, white sandy beaches and turquoise waters.But the people allegedly involved in the trafficking, in which Afghans and Pakistanis were smuggled into Europe, also had sympathies with Islamist extremism, investigators said.
The money earned from people trafficking was allegedly sent to extremist groups in Pakistan, including the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The principal members of the network were allegedly Khan Sultan Wali, a shopkeeper and long-term resident of the Sardinian port of Olbia, and an unidentified imam who lived in Brescia in northern Italy.
The extremist network may have been planning to launch a suicide bomber against the Vatican in 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI was head of the Roman Catholic Church, said Mauro Mura, a prosecutor in Cagliari, Sardinia.
Police intercepted telephone conversations between the suspects which gave “signals of some preparation for a possible attack” against the Holy See, he said.
In the wiretaps, the suspects discussed launching “a big jihad in Italy”, said Mario Carta, a senior police officer. They also used the word “baba” – a possible reference to the Pope.
The purported attack may have been called off after police in Sardinia conducted a raid on the home of one of the alleged al-Qaeda sympathisers in March 2010, possibly scaring off the extremists who planned to carry out the strike.
The Vatican said that since the alleged attack plan dated back five years, it had no particular concerns about the security of Pope Francis, who succeeded Benedict two years ago.
“From what it appears, this concerns a hypothesis that dates from 2010 which didn’t occur. It has therefore no relevance today and no reason for particular concern,” said Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has released several videos in which it says it aims to conquer Rome, enslave Christians and raise the black flag of the caliphate over St Peter’s Basilica.
While authorities say the videos are melodramatic propaganda, they acknowledge that the Pope has made himself a target with his outspoken comments on behalf of Christians being persecuted in the Middle East and his qualified support for air strikes against Isil in Syria and Iraq.
Two recent papal visits to Muslim countries – Albania and Turkey – passed without incident.
Pietro Paroli, who as Vatican secretary of state is the de facto prime minister of the tiny sovereign country, said: “We are all exposed and we are all afraid but the Pope is very tranquil in this, you just have to see him meeting people with great serenity.
“The biggest fear is that innocent people may be affected. But I don’t seem to perceive great concern in the Vatican, although of course you have to be careful.” The Italian government hailed the investigation as an “extraordinary operation”.
Angelino Alfano, the interior minister, said: “We have succeeded in not only dismantling a network of people traffickers but also (detaining) several individuals accused of conspiring with terrorist aims and others of involvement in attacks.”
Some of the men arrested or being sought are suspected of involvement in the October 2009 bombing of a bazaar in Peshawar, Pakistan, which left more than 100 dead and over 200 people injured.
They were also suspected of organising attacks against Pakistani police and security forces between March 2011 and November 2011, in which five people died.
Italian police said they had uncovered evidence that the attacks were planned and financed from Sardinia and that extremists based in Italy had taken part in them. The aim of the attacks was to foment an insurrection against Pakistan’s government and put a stop to its support for US forces in Afghanistan, prosecutors said.
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