A group claiming links to al Qaeda threatened to attack Rome to punish Italy for supporting the United States, and praised the bomb blasts in London, a Web statement said on Friday.It is impossible to evaluate the reliability of the report because there is no way to authenticate the message or method of delivery of that message being reported.
The statement did not appear on Web sites normally used by Islamist militants loyal to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
"We warn Rome, the capital of infidels, that the lions of Jihad in Europe are ready to launch strong strikes against the collaborating government with the crusaders, the Americans, the enemies of God, the Prophet and Muslims," it said.
"With the help of God, a group of honourable mujahideen carried out successful attacks on three (London) underground stations and a bus," said the statement in the name of the little-known Organisation of al Qaeda - Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula.
It gave timings for each of Thursday's attacks, referring to them as "explosions", implying they were not suicide attacks, which militants normally describe as "martyrdom operations".
Gut feeling: Rome is the next logical target. Which could mean anything really. If I were picking targets I'd lead my enemies in one direction and then attack somewhere else. Although there is something to be said for announcing your next target and then actually hitting it.
The moral of the story is that we're all in this together...and Spain owes a LOT of people an apology for encouraging this tactic by their dreadful surrender after Madrid.
