Al-Qaeda 'plans Europe attacks'

2006-11-11 09:54

Washington - United States intelligence agencies have been warned that al-Qaeda may be planning to attack air and rail travel in Europe during the busy holiday travel season, reported CBS News on Friday.

Citing unnamed intelligence sources, the television network said the warnings came after interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects who had recently left Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"One suspect said plans for repeating the (London) Heathrow (airport) attempt were all prepared. It is now a matter of taking action," CBS News quoted one Arab official as saying.

"Al-Qaeda's strategy appears to be raising the pressure in Europe."

In a move puzzling the intelligence agencies, according to the report, al-Qaeda has been withdrawing well-trained Arab fighters from the mountains of Afghanistan over the past six months while handing over its activities in Afghanistan to the country's resurging Taliban movement.

According to CBS News, the new information sheds fresh light on a key mystery at the heart of al-Qaeda's decision to withdraw its Arab members, fighters and logistics experts from Afghanistan.

Britain has been on high alert after the July 2005 bombings on London's public transport network that killed four suicide bombers and 52 commuters.

British police and security services foiled what they said was a plot to blow up transatlantic passenger jets using liquid explosives in August.

- AFP