Terrorist Cell May Have Sought to Attack the Vatican, Italian Officials Say | World Defense

Terrorist Cell May Have Sought to Attack the Vatican, Italian Officials Say

Redheart

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/25/world/europe/vatican-italy-plot.html?_r=0

ROME — The Italian authorities arrested nine people on Friday and said they were part of a Qaeda-linked terrorist cell based on the island of Sardinia that the police have been watching for years.

The group plotted attacks in Pakistan, and at one point planned to strike the Vatican, as part of a “big jihad in Italy,” one police official said. Another nine suspects were still being sought.

Wiretaps collected over the course of seven years of active investigation found “signals of some preparation for a possible attack” at the Vatican in March 2010, Mauro Mura, the chief prosecutor of Cagliari, Sardinia, told reporters on Friday. Those wiretaps revealed the presence in Rome of a Pakistani man “described as a kamikaze,” Mr. Mura said, meaning someone who “was destined for martyrdom.”

Mr. Mura said the planned attack was not necessarily aimed at the pope of the time, Benedict XVI, but rather at the throngs of tourists and pilgrims who fill St. Peter’s Square twice a week to hear the pope speak. “Kamikaze, crowded place, these are the clues,” he said.

The attack was never carried out, possibly because the suspects learned that the police were on their trail. Mr. Muro said on Friday that “our activity was indispensable to ensure that the irreparable did not happen.”

Investigators painted the Vatican plot as one element in a wide-ranging investigation that centered mostly on several prominent members of the Pakistani community in Italy. One suspect was described as a leader of the Muslim community in the Sardinian town of Olbia; another was said to be a well-known imam in Lombardy.

It was not immediately clear why the arrests were being made now.
 

pwarbi

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I'm very surprised that the Vatican hasn't been targeted before to be honest. Unless it has and we just don't know about it?

It would seem like quite a likely target for terrorists to strike, not only for its religious reason but the amount of tourists it attracts from all over the world.
 

Redheart

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There have been plots to attack the Vatican but there never has been an attack because the Italians would learn about the plans and the terrorists would abandon their plans. Question though is if Italian officials knew that a terrorist cell planned to attack the Vatican in 2010, why wait until 2015 to arrest the suspects? Could it be they were planning another attack?
 

pwarbi

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It does beg the question why they have waited this long, I'm sure they would have been picked up a lot sooner if they posed any real threat or it was simply a lack of evidence?

Either way, I think the Italian authorities may have their work cut out, protecting places such as the Vatican as the threat of terrorism grows.
 

Redheart

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And with all the tourist flooding in it certainly isn't an easy task to protect the Vatican. Maybe the Vatican doesn't rely solely on the Italian officials to protect the Pope? They learned something from the era of Napoleon I believe. Their secret security network assures the Pope that the Vatican is always safe.

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The pope has thousands of secret agents worldwide. They include Jesuits, the Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta, Opus Dei, and others. The Vatican’s Intelligence Service and its field resources are second to none.” – Dave Hunt
 
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I come from a Baptist background and have mixed feelings about the Vatican (but I see Rev. Francis as being a positive example). However, an islamic terror attack on the Vatican or any other major Christian organization (or, for that matter, the Dalai Lama) would justify another Crusade, just ask the moral Islamic forces to join in with us. I bet the Grand Poobah of Iran would be on our side, as well as the leaders of Saudi Arabia.
Notice that both groups seem to be willing to fight ISIL.
Actually, I think some of my ancestors WERE crusaders, Knights Templars.
 

pwarbi

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A secret service that second to none...maybe the UK and the USA could learn a thing or two from the Vatican!

I'm not religious at all so I'm a bit surprised to be honest that the pope is protected to that level. I guess he is a prime target.
 
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A secret service that second to none...maybe the UK and the USA could learn a thing or two from the Vatican!

I'm not religious at all so I'm a bit surprised to be honest that the pope is protected to that level. I guess he is a prime target.
Just a little bit of attention to modern history would give a hint, it was not that long ago that an attempt was made to assassinate JohnPaul II, and many people argue that John Paul I was assasinated. A number of other Popes have been assassinated. The Roman Church has always been associated with political intrigue. Consider the target he presents to radical Islamicists.
 

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Well these people are just mentally unstable after being brainwashed by religion. What do they have to gain by killing others in the name of Islam? If a religion preaches violence as a means to get across your views then something is very wrong with that religion.
 

pwarbi

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While I accept that leaders of any religion will be a target, I think the pope and the Vatican is more exposed than most. How many millions of people visit every year, just for a start?

Wasnt there a pope shot all that not long ago by the way?
 

heavyinfantry

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Yes he was shot by a turkish citizen if I recall correctly. But that's not the point in my opinion. The vatican isn't really an easy target to attack and to take down. The pope has guards, security and safety and he has nothing to envy comparing to , for example, the president of USA. He has all type of security measures that you can think from bodyguards, spy cameras, etc.. What are in danger are the monuments and all the architectonics building that are left without pretty anyone to protect them. That's a shame. Just think about the ancient statues that have been destroyed by ISIS just because they weren't respecting the principles of the Coran.
 
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Yes he was shot by a turkish citizen if I recall correctly. But that's not the point in my opinion. The vatican isn't really an easy target to attack and to take down. The pope has guards, security and safety and he has nothing to envy comparing to , for example, the president of USA. He has all type of security measures that you can think from bodyguards, spy cameras, etc.. What are in danger are the monuments and all the architectonics building that are left without pretty anyone to protect them. That's a shame. Just think about the ancient statues that have been destroyed by ISIS just because they weren't respecting the principles of the Coran.
Islam has been know for iconoclasm, particularly regarding statues, although it is not called for by the Koran book. Many leading Islamic authorities do not require it, except where an image is clearly intended for worship. Many Christian groups have also practiced iconoclasm, and some Christian groups do not allow photographs or portraits. I agree that such practices where they destroy culture are horrific, and I hope that we will see an end to those who seek to destroy history.
 

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I reckon it could be due to the evidence not being there, or some of the people were hiding as well and also may have not known where to look as well. I think that, it will take time to see why the investigations took this long and could there have been a internal conspiracy or promises made to let them roam around and need to see what the government says about it. I hope that, we see what will happen now and in the coming days and weeks as well so the people should get answers as well.
 

pwarbi

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Yeap shot by Mehmet Ali Ağca....freaky guy.

Did the guy give any reason for the attack? Was it religious or politically motivated or, was he just like you say, just a freak?

There's a lot of people out there that will use a certain belief as an excuse to commit acts like that.
 
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