Extremists Sought in Possible Plot Against the Vatican

Extremists may have plotted an attack against the Vatican in 2010, authorities in Italy said today in announcing the arrests of nine suspected Islamist extremists of Afghan and Pakistan origin.

Arrest warrants were issued for others in the sweep, authorities said.

The suspects are all said to be members of an international terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda.

Mario Carta of the antiterrorism police in Sassari, Sardinia, told Italian media authorities had a "strong suspicion" from wiretaps that a plot against the Vatican had been planned. Recorded telephone conversations that took place near the seat of the Roman Catholic Church were said to have mentioned "restricted areas" and used the word "papa," which is Italian for the pope.

The antiterrorism police alerted Rome and Vatican authorities. The alleged attackers may have aborted the plan because they knew they were under surveillance, Carta said.

Mauro Mura, an Italian prosecutor, told reporters the Vatican threat was from March 2010, when Benedict XVI was serving as pope.

The detained suspects are not being held in connection to the possible Vatican plot but for various charges including terror attacks carried out outside Italy and assisting illegal immigration.

They included two men reported to be former body guards to Osama bin Laden and who had planned attacks in Pakistan. The group was also accused of plotting to destabilize the government of Pakistan as well as being involved in the trafficking of refugees entering Italy, sometimes with the group's financial assistance.

Eight of those arrested were Pakistani and one was Afghan, according to the police website. Nine others, including three believed to still be in Italy, are reportedly being sought.

The center of the operation was on the island of Sardinia, authorities said. Italian authorities have been conducting wiretaps of the group for some years now.

Police in Sardinia said they believe that some of the suspects participated in the October 2009 bombing of a market in Peshawar, Pakistan, where more than 100 people were killed. At a news conference authorities explained the network had access to a vast supply of weapons and included numerous followers who were prepared to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Police also stated the group was responsible for assisting illegal immigrants enter into Italy and, in some cases, helped move refugees to other parts of Europe. The group provided fake documents, cellphones, and provided statements to help obtain political asylum, authorities said