France warns travelers against UK terror threat

[General Veers]

France warns travelers against UK terror threat

PARIS | Wed Oct 6, 2010 4:16am EDT

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government has warned citizens traveling to Britain to exercise caution due to a very high risk of terrorist action in the country that could target public transport and tourist sites. In a notice posted on the Foreign Ministry website on Tuesday evening, French authorities said the British government considered a terrorist attack was "highly likely."

"We advise (travelers) to be extremely vigilant on public transport and at popular tourist sites," the ministry said on its website. The United States and Britain warned their citizens on Sunday of an increased risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, with Washington saying al Qaeda might target transport infrastructure.

Britain raised the terrorism alert level in its advice for travelers to Germany and France to "high" from "general," while leaving the threat level at home unchanged at "severe." In Berlin, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Wednesday he saw no indications of any imminent terror attack on Germany even though the country is in general a target.

(Reporting by Vicky Buffery; editing by David Stamp)

 

[Keiji Maeda]

Officials Play Down UK Terror Chief Reports


Officials Play Down UK Terror Chief Reports

2:24pm Wednesday October 06, 2010
Adam Arnold

Government officials have played down reports that a British man killed in Pakistan was poised to head up an al Qaeda group in the UK.

The US has stepped up attacks by its pilotless drones over northwest Pakistan

The group - called the Islamic Army of Great Britain - was said to have been tasked with carrying out attacks in the UK and mainland Europe. Abdul Jabbar, who was living in Punjab, Pakistan, but believed to be from the north west of England, was killed in a US drone attack last month. It was claimed he had been picked to lead the terror group, but Sky sources said the reports were something the media should be "rather cautious of".

Travel warnings have been issued to passengers travelling to certain countries. What are we to make of all this and what are the point of such warnings?
​

<cite> </cite> The decision to appoint him was said to have been made during a meeting in Pakistan's lawless North Waziristan region three months ago, attended by 300 militants and monitored by intelligence agencies. Last week, Sky News sources revealed intelligence agencies in Europe, Pakistan and the US intercepted a credible Islamic plot to launch raids on European cities. The US warned its citizens to be alert when travelling to Europe and Britain also issued similar warnings.

There have been bomb threats targeting the Eiffel Tower and several people have been arrested in France where weapons were also discovered. The French government has now warned its citizens travelling to the UK to be cautious due to a very high risk of terrorist action which could target transport and tourist areas. Sky sources said terrorists were planning commando-style assaults similar to the attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai two years ago.

The new group was set up to organise synchronised attacks in the UK, France and Germany. It was this intelligence that led to the missile strike by a US unmanned aerial drone on September 8 which killed Jabbar and three others. They had been hiding in the tribal areas of North Waziristan, a lawless ethnic Pashtun region on the Afghan border which is part of a global hub for militants.

Several Germans have also been killed in drone attacks in Pakistan, it has recently been revealed.

Police made several anti-terror arrests in France

A Pakistani intelligence official said Jabbar came to Pakistan in 2009 and received militant training in North Waziristan. The Briton had earlier survived a drone strike on a militant training camp. "He was eventually killed in a drone strike near Miranshah on September 8," the official said. Concerns about a group of about 100 German Islamists who had travelled between Germany and northwest Pakistan contributed to the latest security alert in Europe. The United States has stepped up attacks by its pilotless drone aircraft over northwest Pakistan since late 2008. Most of the attacks have been in North Waziristan.