Thaindian News

London, Sep 29 (IANS) A terror plot by Pakistan-based militants to launch Mumbai-style attacks in Britain and other European countries has been foiled by intelligence agencies, a media report said.

Intelligence sources revealed that militants based in Pakistan, thought to be linked to Al Qaeda, were planning simultaneous strikes on London and other European cities, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

The attacks would have been similar to the commando-style raids carried out in Mumbai in 2008 which killed 166 people, British intelligence sources said.

The latest plot is believed to target Britain, France and Germany, and was unearthed after intelligence sharing between spy agencies from all three countries and the US, the report said.

The plot was in the “advanced but not in the imminent stages” and the plotters had been tracked by spy agencies for some time, the intelligence sources said.

The revelations may be linked to Tuesday’s evacuation of the Eiffel Tower in Paris because of a bomb scare for the second time in two weeks.

Last week, French authorities said they had uncovered a suicide bombing plot, linked to Al Qaeda’s North African affiliate, to attack the Paris subway, the report said.

They said the threat might be connected to France’s recent vote to ban the wearing of burqa.

This month American forces have intensified missile strikes against militants in Pakistan from unmanned drones, suggesting they were pre-empting an attack, the report said.

It is feared an Al Qaeda-linked group may have been planning an attack on the West from a lawless tribal area of Pakistan.

The US has launched at least 20 drone strikes so far this month in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region neighbouring Afghanistan, the highest monthly total in the past six years.

Not all of the drone strikes in the latest wave are connected to the suspected European plot. But many have targeted militants who are part of the Haqqani network, a militant group connected to Al Qaeda.

In recent weeks, intelligence officials in Britain have issued warnings that the Al Qaeda threat remains high.