London, Nov 9, IRNA, British intelligence officials have warned against increasing number of al-Qaeda extremists across the country, saying they are planning further “spectacular” attacks in UK.
A document by the intelligence branch of Britain’s Ministry of Defense, MI5 and Special Branch, said “Thousands” of extremists are active in the UK.
“They are predominantly UK-born and aged between 18 and 30, and many are believed to have been trained in overseas terrorist camps,” the report published in “Sunday Telegraph” said.
Under the heading “International Terrorism”, the report, which is marked “restricted” added “for the foreseeable future the UK will continue to be a high-priority target for international terrorists aligned with al-Qaeda.”
A year ago Jonathan Evans, the director general of MI5, said in a speech that his organization had identified that there were at least 2,000 individuals who posed a threat to national security and public safety.
Since 2001, over 1,200 terrorist suspects have been arrested, over 140 have been charged and more than 45 have been convicted of terrorism offenses, according to UK Home Office figures.
It is also estimated that there are some 200 terrorist networks functioning in Britain today which are involved in at least 30 plots.
The report continues “the majority of extremists are British nationals of south Asian, mainly Pakistani origin but there are also extremists from north and east Africa, Iraq and the Middle East, and a number of converts”.
“The main extremist concentrations are in London and Birmingham, with significant extremist networks in the South East, notably Luton.” The document also reveals that many of the terror networks operating in the UK include extremists who have been trained in terrorist camps overseas and have “some ability to construct improvised explosive devices, incorporating home-made explosives”.
It is also made clear in the report that al-Qaeda cells are planning further attacks in UK with the so-called Government Security Zone (GSZ), an area which covers the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall, Buckingham and St James’ Palaces, as a possible target.
Security officials are convinced that UK-based al-Qaeda cells will attempt to carry out another “spectacular” attack inside the UK with major transport termini, such as airports and train stations, being the most likely targets.