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Pakistan-origin terrorists under CIA scanner

London: To prevent a Mumbai-like massacre on American soil, the CIA is said to have launched a vast spying operation in Britain as it suspects that British terrorists of Pakistani origin are the biggest threat to U.S. According to the CIA, which has recruited a number of informants in the Pakistani community, a British extremist of Pakistani origin entering the U.S. is the most likely source of a terror attack on America, Britain’s leading newspaper The Sunday Telegraph reported.

A former CIA officer who has advised President Barack Obama told the British newspaper that the agency had in fact stepped up its efforts after the Mumbai mayhem “laid bare the threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba”, the militant group which has an extensive web of supporters in U.K.’s Pakistani community.

“In the aftermath of the Mumbai attack the U.S. and the U.K. intelligence services now have to regard Lashkar-e-Taiba as just as serious a threat to both of our countries as Al-Qaeda. They have a much more extensive base among Pakistani Diaspora communities in the U.K. than Al-Qaeda,” said Bruce Riedel.

The CIA has already briefed Mr. Obama about the threats., Mr. Riedel served three U.S. Presidents as a West Asia expert on the White House National Security Council. — PTI

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