Anger continues to simmer in the Middle East as the apology from the Pope Monday for comments he made on Islam failed to bring calm.
Effigies of the Pope have been burnt in Iraq and now a militant group linked to al-Qaeda has vowed to pursue a holy war as it promised to assassinate Pope Benedict XVI.
Security at St Peter's Square remained on high alert after the promise of the militants to "conquer Rome" was made public.
The Mujahidin Shura Council, an umbrella group for Sunni Islamists, said in a statement: "We tell the worshipper of the Cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated . . . May God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahidin."
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