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Qaeda-Linked Group Says Will Strike Italy-Web Site
50 minutes ago
DUBAI (Reuters) - A group claiming links to al Qaeda called on its fighters to attack "all targets" in Italy after it ignored the group's Aug. 15 deadline for Italian troops to quit Iraq (news - web sites), an Internet statement said Sunday.
The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades said Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was one of its main targets, adding that its forthcoming attacks would not stop until "Iraq is secure."
"The Italian government has dug its own grave after it heeded the top infidel America and remained in Iraq to shed blood ... which is why it is responsible for all the blood that will flow in Italy," the statement said.
Its authenticity could not be immediately verified.
The group has repeatedly threatened Italy and has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks, including the Madrid train bombings in March, but has not been officially linked to any of them.
Kathianne said:
Italy Says Won't Be Intimidated by Militant Threats
2 hours, 30 minutes ago
By Antonella Cinelli
ROME (Reuters) - Italy will not be intimidated by threats from Muslim militants but cannot dismiss the possibility of an eventual attack, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said on Sunday, after a group claiming al Qaeda links vowed to strike.
The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades called on its fighters to hit "all targets" in Italy after its Aug. 15 deadline for Italian troops to quit Iraq (news - web sites) was ignored.
Pisanu told reporters militants were using the media to hype their threats and played down reports that a van packed with explosives might have crossed into Italy from France.
"We are not underestimating (the threats) but we are not going to let ourselves be frightened and we will continue with the heightened security measures we have put in place," he said.
The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades has repeatedly threatened to hit Italy if it kept troops in Iraq and Sunday said it would now put words into action.
"Today we have declared the start of a bloody war and, by the will of God, the ground will shake beneath the feet of each and every Italian," said a statement posted on the Internet.
U.S. officials say the group's links to al Qaeda are unclear and some security analysts have questioned its credentials.
The same group last year said it was responsible for a blackout on the East Coast of the United States that was later shown to have been caused by technical problems.
However, Rome is worried that militants possibly based in Italy might act on the Internet messages and officials say security has been tightened across the country this holiday weekend.
"We do not rule out the risk that dormant or partially active terrorist groups, or even individuals might suddenly mobilize themselves and strike directly against the national territory, even without direct input from abroad," Pisanu said.
Corriere della Sera newspaper reported Sunday that police had launched a nationwide hunt for a white Ford transit van that crossed the French-Italian border on early Saturday morning, amid fears that it might be packed with explosives.
