Reports: Explosive device was found in Rome subway

[December 21, 2010]  ROME (AP) --  An explosive device was found Tuesday in a grocery bag under the seat of a subway car in Rome, Italian news agencies reported.

The ANSA and Apcom agencies said the device was found inside a train during a stop in Rebibbia, on the outskirts of the city.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said the discovery was "worrying."

"Bomb disposal experts are looking into what it is -- whether it's a dangerous device that was capable of exploding or an inactive object," Alemanno told Apcom.

The area was cleared of people, according to the reports.

Apcom said the device had been left in the grocery bag under a seat, and was spotted by the conductor in the morning.

ANSA cited a press release by the Atac company that runs the subway. Nobody was immediately available at Atac.

European officials typically step up security around the holidays. A Nigerian man with explosives taped to his underwear tried to blow up a plane last year as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who had studied in London, boarded the Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit from Amsterdam.

Iraqi officials claimed last week that captured insurgents believed that a suicide bombing in Stockholm that killed only the bomber was part of a series of Christmas season attacks.

Both British and German officials have insisted there have been no new specific threats to their countries over the festive period.

Britain's terror alert has remained unchanged at "severe" while Germany upped its terror alert on Nov. 17, when Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned of an increased threat from Islamic extremists.

[Associated Press; By ALESSANDRA RIZZO]

Paisley Dodds in London contributed to this report.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.