Diego Parente, the head of the Rome section of the Italian police's DIGOS anti-terror squad, said Monday that his department had no evidence to confirm reports the Vatican could be the next target of Islamist terrorists after last week's attacks in France. "At the moment there is no confirmation about the threats to the Vatican, but the level of alert is at the maximum," Parente said. "There is not yet any confirmation of this latest alarm".
Israeli State television reported that American intelligence services have warned the Vatican that it could be the next target for Islamist terrorists on Sunday, as international leaders joined around two million people taking part in a massive anti-terrorism rally in Paris.
Parente said that the authorities have beefed up security measures in Rome's Jewish quarter and around the city's Jewish school in the wake of the attacks. "(Security) services have been redesigned and strengthened outside all the sensitive (potential) targets," Parente said. He added that these included embassies, monuments, place of worship and offices of news organisations and broadcasters.
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