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Zarqawi redeploying fighters to Europe in preparation for August attack
BRITISH intelligence and security services are on high alert in preparation for terror attacks in major UK cities following the double assault on London.Emergency planners are keyed up for terror strikes in cities such as Glasgow and Birmingham. The net has also widened across the world in the hunt for those who planned and helped prepare the July 7 and July 21 attacks in London. Intelligence and security analysts believe that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an al-Qaeda chief in Iraq, has built up such a well-stocked team of fighters that he has been able to send a number of trained terrorists back to their countries of origin in recent months. The fact that Islamic terrorists have been able to sustain daily suicide attacks in Iraq while still drafting seasoned veterans out of the country for operations in Europe and the Middle East underscores the strength of the insurgency in Iraq. Prior to the London bombings, Zarqawi threatened Britain, Italy, France, Denmark and Russia. The UK and Italy were top of the hit list. Also under threat were the nations of Egypt â which was hit early yesterday morning with devastating car bombs â Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Zarqawi also warned Israel that the state was âin his sights â and very soonâ. There are major fears that the next al-Qaeda-inspired terror strike could employ some sort of dirty bomb in order to ramp up global panic. Some intelligence analysts estimate up to 1000 foreign fighters in Iraq may have been ordered back to their homelands in countries as disparate as Egypt and Britain to prepare for assaults in their own states. Zarqawiâs base is in Iraqâs western province of Anbar â an area in which he appears to operate with relative impunity. Terror cells affiliated in some way to al-Qaeda are now operating in Europe, the Middle East, north and west Africa and southeast Asia. Terrorists are believed to have established links with criminal organisations in Europe and Africa to help them move men, money, weapons and explosives. The latest warnings have given European countries still engaged in Iraq until August 15 to pull out or face âa bloody war in the service of Godâ. A statement from the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade, which claimed responsibility for the London atrocities, said: âThere will be no more messages, just actions that will be engraved on the heart of Europe ⊠these are our last words. The mujahidin, who are on the look-out, will have other words to say to your capitals.â Globally, intelligence agencies, including MI6 and the CIA, are beginning to look more and more at west Africa as the possible hide-out of some of the most wanted Islamic terrorists in the world â including those suspected of having connections to the London bombings. US and British intelligence representatives met recently with intelligence officers from Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott on July 13, shortly after the first London bombings. One theory is that the London bomb team may have received their final orders â and perhaps even their funding and explosives â from terror leaders operating the west African âfranchiseâ of al-Qaeda. Last month, Mauritaniaâs authorities seized documents they say were used by Islamic militants to âjustify terrorismâ and which gave practical tips on staging attacks. Al-Qaeda can no longer be considered the same organ isation that it was prior to the toppling of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Instead it now operates more as an exportable ideology with local terror groups affiliating themselves to Osama bin Laden. These groups act independently of bin Laden and it is unlikely he would have known much, if anything, of any planning for atrocities such as the July 7 bombings in London. West Africa is a perfect hide-out for international terrorist, given its remoteness and the fact that there are so many tribes among whom operatives can hide. The main countries in which the al-Qaeda affiliates are based include Algeria, Mali, Burkino Faso, Benin, Niger, Nigeria and Mauritania. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-07-24 |
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