Reuters AlertNet Lite - Britain's home-grown al Qaeda plots increase-paper

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

Britain's home-grown al Qaeda plots increase-paper

25 Feb 2007 11:17:17 GMT
Source: Reuters

LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - More than 2,000 home-grown al Qaeda terrorists are plotting suicide attacks in Britain, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, citing a secret intelligence document.

The security threat is at its highest level since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the planning of attacks against British targets will increase further in 2007, the "Extremist Threat Assessment" document said, according to the newspaper.

"The scale of al Qaeda's ambitions towards attacking the UK and the number of UK extremists prepared to participate in attacks are even greater than we had previously judged," the Sunday Telegraph quoted the document as saying.

Britain suffered its worst peacetime attack in July 2005 when four British Islamists blew themselves up on London's transport network, killing 52 commuters and wounding hundreds.

The report said Afghanistan, where more British troops are expected to be sent shortly, was the top location for terrorists planning jihad or holy struggle against the West.

It said al Qaeda was "resilient and effective" in Iraq while its operating environment and financial position in Pakistan had improved.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism unit said: "The threat is real and genuine as events of recent months and years have demonstrated."

He declined to comment specifically on the report.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said the department did not comment on leaked reports. "The threat level is as it was," she said.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of intelligence agency MI5, said in November that Muslim extremists were plotting at least 30 major terrorist attacks in Britain and the threats might involve chemical and nuclear devices.

She said young British Muslims were being groomed to become suicide bombers and her agents were tracking some 1,600 suspects, most of whom were British-born and linked to al Qaeda in Pakistan.

AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article Send comments

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.

Reset map

• Afghanistan profile
· View map

• Iraq profile
· View map

• Pakistan profile
· View map

MORE >>

NGO latest

• Press Release: 46 Nations Commit to Ban Cluster Bombs
Landmine Action - UK

• WER calls for greater international response to Iraqi refugee crisis
WER - UK

• Barclays and Morrisons must come clean to tackle climate injustice
Christian Aid - UK

• Barclays and Morrisons must come clean to tackle climate injustice
Christian Aid - UK

• Government failing to act on UK's missing carbon millions
Christian Aid - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

• Britain's home-grown al Qaeda plots increase-paper

• Death toll from Baghdad college blast rises to 17

• Suicide bomber kills 17 at Baghdad college

• Suicide bomber kills 10 at Baghdad college-police

• Insurgents launch attacks in Baghdad

MORE >>

Last updated:Sun Feb 25 11:18:56 2007