Vatican confirms al-Qaida man involved in Pope plot

THE Vatican has confirmed that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the second in command to Osama bin Laden, arrested in Pakistan last week, was the leader of a group of Islamic militants which plotted to kill Pope John Paul II on a visit to the Philippines.

The visit of the 82-year-old Pontiff in January 1995 went ahead with particularly tight security throughout.

Another member of the Islamic cell was Ramzi Yousef who is serving a life term in an American prison for his part in masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York, which killed six people and wounded 1,000.