Police in Italy have arrested 20 people suspected of having links to al-Qaeda, as prosecutors say the Vatican may have been the target of a planned attack, according to BBC News.

Investigators say they found a militant ring in Sardinia, with a suicide attacker potentially planning to target the Holy See.

Some of the suspects are believed to have organized the 2009 market bombing in Peshawar in Pakistan, reports say. Local media said two men had provided protection for Osama Bin Laden.