'Terror plot linked to Al-Qaeda targeting Europe foiled'

[brahmastra]

A police officer stands by the Eiffel Tower, Paris on Tuesday . The Eiffel Tower was evacuated after a bomb threat.

An al-Qaeda-linked plot to launch a Mumbai-style terror attack simultaneously on London and major cities in France and Germany was disrupted by intelligence agencies, a report has said.

The plan for suicidal onslaughts similar to the 2008 atrocity in Mumbai, where 166 people were killed in a series of gun and grenade assaults was uncovered after a combined operation involving United States, United Kingdom, France and German intelligence agencies, The Guardian reported today quoting officials.

British security and intelligence sources, who have been concerned for some time about the possibility of a Mumbai—style attack in Europe, confirmed that they believed a plot was being hatched by militants based in Pakistan.

The increased rate of U.S. coordinated drone raids along the border with Afghanistan is believed to be a response to intelligence gathered about the plot.

Quoting sources, Sky News reported that “militants based in Pakistan were planning simultaneous strikes on London and major cities in France and Germany.”

The plan was in an advanced but not imminent stage and the plotters had been tracked by spy agencies “for some time“.

Intelligence sources told Sky the planned attacks would have been similar to the commando-style raids carried out in Mumbai.

The report said the European plot had been “severely disrupted” following intelligence sharing between Britain, France, Germany and the US. It is not known whether the attackers are already in Europe.

News of the planned strikes came as the Eiffel tower in Paris was evacuated because of a bomb scare for the second time in two weeks.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean it was a target, but it shows how nervous the French are,” the report said.

When the terror plan came to light, US military began helping its European allies by trying to kill the leaders behind the plot in Pakistan’s Waziristan region.

There have been a record 20 missile attacks using drone aircraft there in the past 30 days.

“I am led to believe a number of these attacks were designed against the leadership of this particular plot, which had an al Qaeda and possibly some sort of Taliban connection projecting into Europe,” Sky News foreign editor Tim Marshall said.

Britain’s terror threat level remains at “severe” following the underpants bomber’s attempted attack on Detroit airport last Christmas.

In the aftermath of the attack western intelligence agencies gained access to computers seized from the Islamist group which listed other potential targets outside the Indian subcontinent for commando—style terror strikes.

Nine of the gunmen were killed — but a lone survivor gave Indian investigators a full confession that the assault was planned in Pakistan by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group that originally began an armed campaign against the Indian army in Jammu and Kashmir.

US military briefings suggested the latest missile attacks in Pakistan had been coordinated by the CIA and were an unusual example of using drones to pre-empt possible terror plots.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article802364.ece?homepage=true

 

[brahmastra]

'Al-Qaeda' terror plot targeting Europe uncovered- BBC


Western intelligence agencies are tracking a significant al-Qaeda plot to carry out commando-style raids on cities in Britain, France and Germany.

It is thought teams of jihadists plan to seize Western hostages and murder them - in a manner similar to the siege of two Indian hotels in Mumbai.

The plot is believed to be in its early stages.

No imminent arrests in the UK are expected, and the national threat level remains at its current level of severe.

Details leaked
Intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic are tracking one of the most serious al-Qaeda attack plans in recent years.

Inspired by al-Qaeda's fugitive core leadership in Pakistan's tribal areas, the plan is understood to include small well-armed commando-style teams of jihadist militants.

The idea is thought to have moved from the aspirational stage to actual planning.

Western security agencies may have been hoping to keep their knowledge of it out of the public spotlight for longer so criminal evidence could be gathered, but initial details were leaked to the US press.

In the UK, the national threat remains at severe, where it has been since January, meaning a terrorist attack is thought highly likely.

But government officials say there are no plans to raise it to the highest level of critical, and they do not expect to see an imminent wave of arrests.

France and Germany are both on a heightened state of security alert.

 

[NWO]

Can't say nothing until more details are released, which won't be anytime soon until the investigation is over.

 

[Durran3]

//sigh... it just never ends.. Pakistan's becoming an international migraine. May Zia ul Haq burn in hell

 

[s90]

Europe warned of Mumbai-style terror attacks​

(CNN) -- A German citizen of Afghan descent was the source of much of the information on a potential "Mumbai-style" terror plot in Europe, a German counterterrorism official said Wednesday.

The man, Ahmed Sidiqi, was detained in Kabul in July and transferred to U.S. custody where he has "revealed details about the terror plot," said the official, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to talk to the media.

The man and several other Germans traveled from Hamburg to the Afghan-Pakistan border area in 2009, where he joined the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, an extremist group allied with al Qaeda, German intelligence officials said.

Sidiqi, once captured, "started to talk a lot," and detailed a "Mumbai-style" attack in Europe, the German official said.

Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat

Ten men launched a carefully planned attack on buildings in Mumbai, India, on November 26, 2008. The attack on such prominent sites -- such as the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, the Oberoi-Trident hotels, the historic Victoria Terminus train station and a Jewish cultural center -- lasted three days and killed 164 people.

Sidiqi is from Hamburg where he worked for a cleaning company at the Hamburg international airport, the German official said.

He attended the Masjid Taiba mosque, formerly known as the Al-Quds mosque, in Hamburg, which became known as the meeting place of those behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

Among those who prayed there was Mohammad Atta, one of the hijackers who commandeered the first plane that crashed into New York's World Trade Center. Sidiqi was part of Atta's circle, the official said.

Hamburg shut down the mosque this year, not long after Sidiqi's capture.

National Intelligence Director James Clapper would not talk about a plot Tuesday evening.

"We are not going to comment on specific intelligence, as doing so threatens to undermine intelligence operations that are critical to protecting the U.S. and our allies," he said. "As we have repeatedly said, we know al Qaeda wants to attack Europe and the United States."

Meanwhile, a federal law enforcement official in the United States, said "the volume seems to be turned up" on the threat information coming out of Europe.

The intelligence indicates there is interest in using people with Western passports in an attack, that official said. This source says the potential operatives may be a mix of Europeans and others possibly including North Africans, Pakistanis, Turks, Uzbeks, and Tajiks.

There is concern about an "active shooter" scenario that would create as many casualties and as much chaos as possible in a short period of time.

The Mumbai attacks showed how effective this kind of an attack can be in drawing attention.

According to this source, economic targets in Europe could be possible targets, including institutions such as banks and stock exchanges.

A separate law enforcement source said "the belief is" that Osama bin Laden signed off on a European attack plan, and that source confirmed the intelligence related to a Mumbai-style attack.

The German government is increasingly concerned about the number of Germans becoming jihadists. According to a senior German counterterrorism source, some 200 individuals have traveled to train with Jihadist groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region since the 9/11 attacks.

The potential plot against Europe was one factor contributing to the uptick this month in missile strikes by unmanned drones against terrorist targets in Pakistan, according to a U.S. official.

"We would be remiss not to try to take action to thwart what might be under way in Europe," said the official.

The official emphasized that the potential plot was not the sole factor.

U.S. officials say they are taking advantage of what they call "precise intelligence."

Most of the drone attacks this year have been focused on North Waziristan, a mountainous area bordering Afghanistan where Pakistani security forces have little control. That has continued to be the pattern this month.

Based on information from Pakistani officials, CNN estimates there have been 20 drone attacks in the area in September alone, a higher number than in any previous month, and more than twice the monthly average.

Acknowledging the spike, one U.S. official told CNN: "Our operational tempo has been up for a while now, we have good information driving it, and given the stakes involved, we hope to keep the pressure on as long as we can."

According to the official, the mix of threats remains the same. It comes from groups like the Haqqani network, al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistan Taliban. The threats they pose are "all deadly," said the official.

Pakistani officials say many recent strikes have been aimed at compounds in or around the town of Miramshah, a stronghold of the Haqqani network.

Western intelligence officials have long regarded the Haqqanis as one of the most dangerous terror groups and have linked them to several attacks in Kabul.

Intelligence analysts point to other reasons for the escalated drone attacks.

They include better information from sources in the border area and better surveillance technology -- including the growing use of spy balloons fitted with high-powered cameras.

In addition, the rising number of drone strikes is designed to deprive the Afghan Taliban of "strategic depth" as the Obama administration's campaign to defeat the insurgency enters a crucial phase and tighten the noose on the senior al Qaeda leadership.

Pakistani officials say one strike last weekend killed Sheikh Mohammad Fateh al Masri, described as the group's senior operational commander.

Europe warned of Mumbai-style terror attacks - CNN.com

 

[Aeon]

Reports of Europe terror plots 'speculative,' says army
Wednesday, 29 Sep, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's army on Wednesday dismissed as “very speculative” media reports that this month's upsurge in US drone strikes on militants in the country's northwest sought to disrupt attacks on European cities.

Sky News on Tuesday reported that militants based in Pakistan were planning simultaneous strikes in London akin to the 2008 militant assault on Mumbai as well as attacks on cities in France and Germany.

It said a month of strikes by pilotless drone aircraft focused on Pakistan's North Waziristan region, in which more than 100 militants were killed, was intended to disrupt the plot.

Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told Reuters: “We don't have any information or intelligence that militants had gathered there (in North Waziristan) and were plotting attacks. There is absolutely no intelligence on that.”

“Basically it's very speculative,” he said of the Sky News report. “It's a very speculative story. It does not quote any credible source.”

US security officials said they could not confirm that a plot had been disrupted. But they said they believed that the threat of a plot or plots remained.

While no senior-ranking militants were reported killed, Pakistani intelligence officials say a number of others of different nationalities are believed to have died.

On Sept 26, a senior al Qaeda leader, identified as Shaikh al-Fateh, also known as Shaikh Fateh al-Masri, was believed to have been killed, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

'Not Surprised At Surge'

There have been 21 strikes carried out by the remotely piloted drones in September, the highest number in a single month.

Pakistan's Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, has made several threats against American and European targets, but has so far failed to carry out any overseas attacks.

US counter-terrorism agencies are poring over intelligence reports suggesting a major attack plot is currently in the works against unspecified targets in Western Europe or possibly the United States, US security officials said.

Four US security officials, who asked for anonymity, said that initial intelligence reports about the threat first surfaced two weeks ago, around the time of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

British security sources declined to comment on the Sky News report. Britain in January raised its international terrorism threat level to “severe” - the second highest level in the five-tier system.

In Germany, the interior ministery said that while Berlin had information on the alleged plots, there were no firm signs of an imminent attack.

“The current pointers do not warrant a change in the assessment of the danger level,” the ministry said in a statement.

A Serious Risk of Attack

The head of Britain's MI5 Security Service, Jonathan Evans, said on Sept. 16 there remained “a serious risk of a lethal attack taking place”.

“As we have repeatedly said, we know al Qaeda wants to attack Europe and the United States. We continue to work closely with our European allies on the threat from international terrorism, including al Qaeda,” US intelligence chief James Clapper said in a statement.

One US official said militants in Pakistan were “constantly” planning attacks in the region and beyond, and the United States would react to that.

“It shouldn't surprise anyone that links between plots and those who are orchestrating them lead to decisive American action. The terrorists who are involved are, as everyone should expect, going to be targets. That's the whole point of all of this,” the official said. – Reuters

 

[Baahubali]

This explains the increased drone attacks/air raids into Pakistan nowadays.

 

[arya]

Mumbai-style terror attack on European cities foiled - Yahoo! India News

London, Sep 29 (IANS) A terror plot by Pakistan-based militants to launch Mumbai-style attacks in Britain and other European countries has been foiled by intelligence agencies, a media report said.

 

[gambit]

Can't say nothing until more details are released, which won't be anytime soon until the investigation is over.

Correct. Until the investigation is complete, the default assumption should be that this is a Zionist 'false flag' operation. Once the investigation is complete, then we can conclude that this is a Zionist 'false flag' operation.

 

[Hussein]

They spoke about it in news in France but far less than the big economical new policy of France .

First i see Eifel tower pictures...
there were two persons who gave a call to police and said there was a bomb. Both two calls were a joke (some teenager who don't know what to do ).
the governement and the agency said there was no special treat in France nowadays. Germany said so today.
France said "the vigipirate level (alert anti terrorist level of actions) doesn't change "