Italy ‘not intimidated by threats’

ITALY will not be intimidated by threats from Muslim militants but cannot dismiss the possibility of an eventual attack, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said yesterday, after a group claiming al-Qaida links vowed to strike.

The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades called on its fighters to hit “all targets” in Italy after its August 15 deadline for Italian troops to quit Iraq was ignored.

Mr Pisanu said 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 yesterday 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 by the group posted on the internet.

US officials said the group’s links to al-Qaida are unclear and some security analysts have questioned its credentials. The same group said last year 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 security was tightened across the country. Mr Pisanu said Italian security services were following a number of potential leads.

Nineteen Italians were killed in Iraq last year when a suicide bomber attacked a police base in Nassiriya.