UK security reviewed amid terror plot fears

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Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal quoted US counterterrorism officials as being “very concerned” about a plot targeting European countries including France, Germany and the UK.

The plot is understood to be modelled on the series of coordinated attacks by armed gunmen in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, resulting in the taking of hostages and the killing of civilians.

“The Americans clearly failed,” a Whitehall source said today, reflecting anger that any leak may make surveillance, arrests and prosecutions more difficult.

According to reports, a US official confirmed that militants were planning attacks, but denied specific targets had been chosen. In an apparent bid to repair relations with international intelligence agencies following the leak, the official played down suggestions of an imminent threat.

“The threat is, at this point, credible but not specific,” an unnamed official told AFP.

American and European intelligence officials have spoken about growing evidence that militants may be planning a large-scale attack.

“It’s unclear, for instance, precisely where something might occur. For that reason, people shouldn’t limit their thinking to the United Kingdom, France, or Germany.

“While no one should dismiss the prospect of a Mumbai-style operation, it’s entirely conceivable that other modes of attack are in play.”

It is understood that British officials had been aware of a plot for several weeks originating from Waziristan, the tribal belt of Pakistan close to the Afghan border.

British officials today sought to play down the uniqueness of this particular threat, pointing out that plots of various levels of seriousness are being investigated all the time.

Growing concerns
It is understood that the plot – which has not necessarily been stopped – was in its early stages and that no specific targets had been identified. The UK’s threat level remains unchanged at “severe”, meaning that a terrorist attack is a high risk.

This is not the first time intelligence has come to light suggesting a Mumbai-style attack.

American and European intelligence officials have spoken recently about growing evidence that militants may be planning a large-scale attack in Europe, with reports that security has been bolstered at a number of European airports and railway stations.

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France has been on alert for the past 10 days, and the Eiffel Tower was closed yesterday for the second time in a week after a telephone threat of an attack. It is not clear whether France’s concerns are related to plots originating in Waziristan or in its former colonies in North Africa. Five French citizens were taken hostage in Niger two weeks ago, and al-Qaeda affiliates are known to operate in Mali and Algeria.

“We are all seeing increased activity by a more diverse set of groups and a more diverse set of threats,” said Janet Napolitano, America’s Homeland Security Secretary, when she appeared before a Senate panel last week.

In recent weeks there has been a dramatic trebling in American drone attacks on suspected terrorists along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The drones are unmanned and coordinated by the CIA, which has launched more than 70 attacks this year, with 20 reported in the last month.

Yesterday’s New York Times quoted a senior US administration official as saying the strikes were intended not only to attack Taliban fighters, but also to disrupt any plots directed from or supported by extremists in Pakistan’s tribal areas that were aimed at Europe. “The goal is to suppress or disrupt that activity,” the official said.

However, British officials have played down any link between a rise in drone attacks and specific intelligence of attacks on European targets.