Thursday, August 25, 2005
HAS THE POPE BEEN THREATENED ?
The Italian authorities are investigating a fax, allegedly signed by al-Qaida, which makes veiled threats against the Vatican.
The three-page document, written in Arabic, accuses the Vatican of supporting "the capitalist countries" who joined the war in Iraq and justifies terror attacks in Britain and Spain as "self defence against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan".
The fax was sent in Barcelona to the offices of the Spanish conservative daily newspaper ABC and to a Spanish television station.
The interior ministry in Rome confirmed yesterday that it had been informed of the contents of the fax. "We are aware of it but we have no comment to make," a source at the ministry said. The Vatican also refused to comment.
The threats are bound to increase nerves in Italy, which has long feared it could be the next European country to be targeted by Islamists because of the government's support of the Iraq war. Italy maintains the third-largest contingent of US-led troops in Iraq.
Since the London bombings Italy has been on a state of alert described as "intense and prolonged" by the interior minister, Giuseppe Pisanu. Security has been stepped up at airports, train and subway stations and at major tourist sites such as the Vatican and the Colosseum.
Continue reading the article at the Guardian website...
Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.
New Oxford Review links a Reuters story that reports a man has been arrested:
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police said on Thursday they had arrested a Spanish man on suspicion of sending threatening faxes in the name of al Qaeda.
The man, identified only as J.R.M., would be charged with "making threats in the name of a terrorist group", a police spokesman said.
Continue reading...
