REPORT: AL-QAEDA PLANNED TERROR ATTACK ON VATICAN

ROME, (CWNews.com) - Islamic terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden made plans to attack the Vatican and US facilities in Europe last year, according to an Italian anti-terrorism document quoted by the newspaper Corriere della Sera on Wednesday.

The Milan newspaper said the confidential report came from DIGOS, Italy's anti-terrorism agency, and was dated May 24, 2001. While Italian officials wouldn't comment directly on the report, Public Functions Minister Franco Frattini complained that leaking security reports can endanger the public. "Printing classified documents ... regardless of the contents, which are often reported in an inaccurate or partial way, always damages ongoing investigations," Frattini said.

According to Corriere della Sera, the report said the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Call and Combat-- linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network-- was working on several possible attacks, including "a sensational terror attack, either against a US target in Europe or against the Vatican."

The DIGOS report identified a man named Khalifa Mohammed Moussa Ahmed as the head of the group and said he was in charge of checking the feasibility of a bomb attack on the US Embassy in Rome and on St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

In March, Italian police arrested 14 suspects, including nine Moroccans, a Pakistani, three Iraqis, an Algerian, and a Tunisian on suspicion of plotting an attack near the US Embassy in Rome.

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