Militant group in Vatican web threat

An Iraqi insurgent group has threatened the Vatican with a suicide attack over the Pope’s remarks on Islam, according to a statement posted on the internet.

The statement comes days after Pope Benedict XVI quoted comments about the Prophet Mohammed deemed by many to be offensive.

The web threat does not mention the Vatican directly, but is addressed to “you dog of Rome” and threatens to “shake your thrones and break your crosses in your home”.

The message was posted in the name of the Mujahedeen Army on a website frequently used by militant groups. The message, the authenticity of which could not be independently verified, also contained links to video recordings of what the group claimed were rocket attacks on US bases.

The Mujahedeen Army’s statement vowed: “our minds will not rest until we shake your thrones and break your crosses in your home.”

The same group has claimed responsibility for scores of attacks in Iraq, including the April 2005 downing of a helicopter carrying 11 civilians, including six Americans.

The Vatican has said Pope Benedict XVI “sincerely regrets” Muslims had been offended by his quoting Christian emperor Manuel Paleologos II’s remarks that Mohammed had brought “things only evil and inhuman“.

New Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Pope’s position on Islam was in line with Vatican teaching which says the Church “regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God“.