The Bush administration is to be warned today that al-Qa’eda has rebuilt its operating capability to a level not seen since 2001, it was reported last night.
A new counter-terrorism study concludes that despite nearly six years of war, bombings and other tactics aimed at crippling its capability, the group has been able to rebuild to an “extent not seen” since around the time of the September 11 attacks.
– The Telegraph
The chief cleric of Islamabad’s Red Mosque on Tuesday morning said there were “dead bodies everywhere” as an assault by Pakistan security forces against the militants holed up there entered its 10th hour.
– The Guardian
Spanish police have foiled a plot by Eta terrorists to blow up a ferry carrying thousands of British tourists, officials said yesterday.
They said the Pont-Aven, which sails twice a week between Plymouth and the northern Spanish port of Santander, was one of three possible targets.
If the bomb had exploded at sea a major disaster could have occurred on the vessel which carries up to 2,400 passengers and 183 crew.
– The Telegraph
Poor security in hospitals could give terrorists working in the NHS easy access to deadly chemicals and viruses, an expert warned yesterday.
Hospitals are “just as vulnerable as any nightclub”, a security management specialist based in a London hospital told the Health Service Journal.
Of the eight people held over the failed car bombs in London and Glasgow, five are doctors or trainee doctors in Britain, one is a doctor in Australia who previously worked in the UK and one is a hospital laboratory researcher.
– The Telegraph
