British intelligence agencies have established a clear link between an alleged bomb plot in Britain and suspected senior al-Qaida figures in Pakistan, according to anti-terrorist sources. Communications intercepted last month by GCHQ with the help of its American counterpart, the National Security Agency, sparked off a massive MI5 and police operation that led to the arrest of nine men of Pakistani origin last week. A source familiar with the operation told the Guardian that the link with Pakistan would become clear. "More will surface on the external aspects," he said.
The intercepts appear to show that al-Qaida still has some kind of command structure with a hold over what sources describe as loose networks of potential Islamist extremists here. The security and intelligence agencies are deeply concerned about the influence of what they call the "inspirational ideology" preached by extremists. They are puzzled that young men born and bred in Britain appear to be influenced by such fundamentalist ideology yet do not appear to be particularly religious themselves. Sir David Omand, the government's security and intelligence coordinator, briefed senior ministers last week about a perceived new threat of attacks on soft targets in and around the London area. Police have until tomorrow week to charge eight of the men arrested at a number of addresses in south-east England. Some of the men have visited Pakistan. They found half a tonne of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, enough to make a large bomb, in a self-storage warehouse in west London.
Over the weekend magistrates granted anti-terrorism detectives permission to hold the nine men for further questioning. They can be detained without charge for up to two weeks. Police in Gwent refused to comment on a report that a large quantity of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had gone missing from a Welsh farm. The Mail on Sunday newspaper claimed that nearly three tonnes had disappeared in November last year, and that Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism officers were investigating a possible link with the discovery of half a tonne of the same type of fertiliser in west London during raids last week. |