Terror Probe Finds Hole in Tunnel Near Embassy

Italian police have discovered a hole recently carved into an underground passageway next to the U.S. Embassy in Rome and suspect that terrorists were planning to plant a chemical bomb there, a judicial source said.

The news came just days after police arrested four Moroccan men in possession of large quantities of a cyanide compound and maps of the water supply system around the embassy.

After the arrests, police checked tunnels near the embassy complex that carry water, gas and electricity to nearby buildings and found a hole cut into a wall next to the diplomatic mission. The hole was not there when the area was checked in January, newspapers reported.