Venice on al Qaeda alert

Swiss Info ^ | July 11 2002 | Reuters

[knighthawk]

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - Venice is on high alert with small submarines patrolling the city's lagoon and police sealing off its ancient Jewish ghetto following reports of a possible al Qaeda attack.

Police were giving away no details of the operation on Thursday, but said it was necessary to prevent "anything untoward happening".

"There's an alarm in general, but I don't want to say anything more than that," Venice Chief of Police Domenico Bagnato told the ANSA news agency.

On Wednesday, Italian newspapers reported that Italian investigators had uncovered a plot by al Qaeda operatives who last year planned to attack targets such as a church in Venice, St Peter's Square and U.S. diplomatic missions in Europe.

Venetians went about their business as normal but police officers from the specialist Digos anti-terrorism unit patrolled the Jewish ghetto and carried out checks around its synagogue and other buildings.

Small submersible craft were also checking canals in and around the ghetto, but police would not say what they were looking for.

"There's no alarm, there's no panic whatsoever," Elia Richetti, the chief rabbi of Venice, said. "We are always alert in this area...We are collaborating with the security forces in their operation."

[knighthawk]

Ping

[droberts]

Yes, those Italians are perpetually interfering in the affairs of the Middle East, I'm surprised they haven't flown a plane into the leaning tower of Piza or left all the bath taps running in Venice. Makes you wonder what kind of 'anti-terror' legislation the Italian Government is trying to pass.

[ken5050]

All the Muslim men in southern Europe are going to take a day trip to Venice. At 12 noon, next Monday, they're ALL going to simultaneously take a wizz in the lagoon, and flood the entire city by raising the water level 10 feet....

[ellery]

Gee, I wonder if the French police should take a training trip to Italy? They could learn some lessons about trying to prevent attacks on Jews (rather than condoning or appeasing attacks).

[ChicagoRepublican]

There was a time when the Republic of Venice was a big player in European trade and politics. I'm sure they had to have pissed of the arabs in that time in one way or another. I think the Venetians fought in the naval battle of Lepanto which humiliated and destroyed the Ottoman's Mediterranean fleet. I think they also cut off trade with the Mamluk's in Egypt around the 1400's because of unreasonable trade sanctions on the part of greedy Arabs.

[socal_parrot]

Hey! If those al Qaeda guys show in Venice, Mitch will get 'em!

[LikeLight]

Everything about this Venice article sounds eerily similar to the Pasedena, Texas Threat article up in breaking news . . . LE acting like it knows something's up, but saying to remain calm, everything's fine . . . creepy

[droberts]

That's got to be it.