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U.K. top terror target

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Britain's intelligence experts are reported to have warned that it has emerged as the "No 1'' target for Al-Qaeda and could face a terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11.

British media reports on Thursday said that the July 7 London bombings which claimed more than 50 lives and left hundreds injured was "just the beginning'' and extremists were intent on carrying out a huge 9/11-style "spectacular''.

In a front-page report, The Guardian said Al-Qaeda saw Britain as a "massive opportunity to cause loss of life and embarrassment to the authorities''.

"Britain is sitting at the receiving end of an Al-Qaeda campaign,'' it reported a source as saying.

BBC said, according to its security sources, the situation had "never been so grim''.

"They believe the network is now operating a cell structure in the U.K. — like the IRA did — and sees the 7 July bomb attacks as "just the beginning,'' it said.

According to The Guardian report, Al-Qaeda had regrouped and now presented a "greater danger than ever before''.

"Inter-service chiefs with access to the most comprehensive and up-to-date information have told The Guardian that Al-Qaeda has substantially recovered its organisation in Pakistan, despite a four-year military campaign to seek out and kill its leaders. In that time, the organisation has become much more coherent.

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