A STATEMENT posted on an Islamist website and said to be from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network has threatened Italy with a 9/11-style bloodbath if Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi remains in power. "Either you junk the incompetent Berlusconi or we will really burn Italy," the statement said. "We are in Italy. None of you is safe. As long as you refuse the offer put forward by our sheikh (bin Laden), we are going to make good our threats. A bloodbath like that of September 11 (2001) awaits you."
The statement was referring to a July 15 deadline the al-Qaeda leader gave European governments to pull their troops out of Muslim countries. Italy still maintains troops in Iraq, where it has been a staunch supporter of the US-led invasion. The three-month ultimatum was issued in an April 15 audiotape that was later authenticated by the US Central Intelligence Agency. "This message is no mere threat," the latest statement warned. "We are capable of hitting the targets we choose with non-conventional weapons that will spark an enormous catastrophe ... Our next message will be what you see in you country, not an Internet message."
The statement was posted at http://www.ansarnet.ws/vb but its authenticity could not be verified today. It was signed in the name of the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, which also claimed responsibility for the March 11 attacks in Madrid and the November 2003 bombings in Istanbul. |