Report: Italy Increases Security After Islamic State Threatens Pope
An Italian newspaper recently announced that the Vatican is ramping up its security standards after receiving a threat from the Islamic State regarding Pope Francis.
The Italian newspaper Il Tempo published a report this week claiming that the Islamic State had issued a direct threat at the Vatican, saying it was planning an attack that would target the pope for "bearing false witness" against Islam.
The Vatican has sought to downplay the report by Il Tempo, with Holy See spokesperson Frederico Lombardo telling the Catholic News Agency: "There is nothing serious to this."
"There is no particular concern in the Vatican," Lombardo added.
According to The Daily Beast, despite the Vatican's downplaying of the threat, Italian officials have placed flight restrictions in Rome and especially over the Vatican. The Italian government also heightened its terror risk level this week, with Italy's deputy interior minister Filippo Bubbico saying the Islamic State could attack "sensitive targets" such as churches, embassies, train stations and airports.
Italy's decision to heighten security comes after Great Britain announced Friday that they would also be raising their terror threat level from "substantial" to "severe," indicating that a terror attack was "highly likely" but not necessarily "imminent."
"JTAC has today raised the threat level to the UK from international terrorism from SUBSTANTIAL to SEVERE. That means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but there is no intelligence to suggest that an attack is imminent," Home Secretary Theresa May said Friday.
