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Al-Qaeda Cells Spread Across Europe
COUNTER-TERRORIST operations in Britain have uncovered a âlattice networkâ of al-Qaeda-linked cells involved in plotting attacks throughout Europe. Arrests in Britain have produced crucial leads for further investigations by the police and intelligence services in countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain. The British authorities have also benefited from tip-offs from their European counterparts, underlining the links now exposed between the different cells operating across Europe. âThere are no national boundaries in this lattice network of terrorist operations,â one security source said. Intelligence uncovered in Britain has already led to arrests in Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid. Suspected terrorist activities in other European countries have also uncovered new leads for MI5 and the police in Britain. The huge amount of material which has now been gathered by the counter-terrorist services across Europe has also pointed to strong links between al-Qaeda and the Algerian terrorist groups the GIA (Armed Islamic Group) and the GSPC (Salafist Group for Call and Combat). In a new development yesterday it was confirmed that important leads have recently come from Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, which British security officials regard as a soft back-door entry to Britain for asylum-seekers, some of whom, it is feared, could include extremists. In June it was revealed that 30 refugees escaped from a refugee camp in Slovakia and had headed to the Czech Republic and Austria, from where they were believed to be making their way to Britain. Some among this group of 30 had been suspected of fighting in Afghanistan or attending al-Qaeda camps. An Interpol report delivered to Slovak authorities just days before they escaped gave warning that a group linked to Osama bin Laden was trying to reach Britain via Bulgaria and Slovakia to set up a new terrorist cell and launch fresh attacks on Britain and Europe. As their politicians continue to deny the threat, the intel people are quietly working. Posted by: Steve 2002-11-19 |
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