Al-Qaeda 'switching from London to other parts of UK'

Published on 20/10/2006 01:23

AL-QAEDA cells are now operating in every part of the UK as the terrorist network shifts its focus outside London, intelligence officials have warned.

Analysis of the terrorist threat in the wake of last year's 7 July bombing indicates that militants with direct links to the al-Qaeda leadership are now recruiting and training would-be bombers around Britain.

Following a wide reassessment of intelligence work since last July, MI5, MI6 and anti- terrorist police have now concluded that the terrorist threat to Britain is at least as high as it has ever been.

To combat the regional threat of terrorism, MI5, the Security Service, has established local stations across Britain, including one in Glasgow.

A BBC report last night said officials now believed al-Qaeda associates were operating a cell network similar to that used by the IRA and other conventional terrorist groups. But a senior security source last night told The Scotsman that claim was "questionable."

Perhaps the most alarming conclusion officials have made is that the al-Qaeda leadership, badly damaged by the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, has been able to regroup in the lawless border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Privately, officials say the Pakistani government is still not doing enough to bring order to the area.