The Vatican has admitted it is a target for crazed jihadis due to its religious links. Any attack would send shivers across the globe.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin said recently the Vatican was considering whether to ramp up security, The Express newspaper reported on Sunday.

He said: "The Vatican could be a target because of its religious significance.

"We are capable of increasing the level of security in the Vatican and the surrounding area.

"But we will not let ourselves be paralysed by fear."

Rome has been the subject of a number of threatening terror films released by the extremists in recent weeks.

It is thought the focus on Rome, and specifically the Vatican City, may be in response to the Pope's recent condemnation of the deadly terror attacks in Paris, as well as its status of the capital of the Catholic world.

Following the bloody night in Paris last month last month, in which 130 people died, Pope Francis said: "Such barbarity leaves us dismayed, and we ask ourselves how the human heart can plan and carry out such horrible events.

"There are no justifications for these things."

The latest, and most ominous video, shows CGI ISIS tanks advancing on a crumbling Colosseum, promises a final battle between "believers" and "crusaders."

The video's narrator then apparently claims that ISIS will take over Rome, destroying crucifixes and taking Christian women as slaves.

Earlier this year, the Pope's head of security Domenico Giani said the Holy See would not change his habits or lifestyle in light of the threats.

Sources: MENA