An Italian Air Force fighter forced an executive jet with a suspected bomb on board to land near Rome this afternoon, where world leaders had gathered for the funeral of Pope John Paul, an Air Force official said.
But the official said no bomb had been discovered.
A military source said the plane was heading to Rome from the Balkans and was forced to land at a military airbase outside the Italian capital at 3.16 pm (2.16 Irish time).
Two F16s intercepted the plane heading to Rome 's Ciampino airport today, hours after the pope's funeral, and escorted it to a local airport.
The news agency ANSA quoted intelligence sources as saying there might have
been a bomb on the plane.
ANSA said the aircraft was a Lear Jet 131 executive jet from Belgrade bound
for Ciampino, which serves both military and civilian aircraft and was closed today for the pope's funeral.
The incident happened amid a heightened alert because of the presence in Rome
world leaders and for the pope's funeral. Dignitaries from 138 countries attended the event.
Agencies