President George Bush’s hopes for making progress with his new Iraq strategy suffered a double blow when there was an upsurge in violence over the weekend and fresh political turmoil in the country.
Twenty-three Iraqi army recruits were killed yesterday the day after a truck bomb killed 150 people in Armili, the second worst attack on civilians since the US invasion in 2003.
– The Guardian
Police must develop a network of Muslim spies to gather intelligence on terror suspects plotting attacks in Britain, the former head of MI5 has recommended.
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller’s demand comes as the country’s new Security Minister urged the public to “grass” on individuals about whom they have suspicions.
An MI5 map indicating the extent of terror networks has been circulated to all police forces in the country.
The terror hot spot is the West Midlands, with about 80 suspected terror networks under surveillance by MI5 and the police, according to security sources yesterday.
– The Times
Significant numbers of Britons are travelling to Bangladesh to train in terrorist techniques amid rising concern among security and intelligence officials about the increasing appeal of al-Qaida’s message throughout the Middle East and south-east Asia.
Their concern is compounded by a realisation among al-Qaida leaders of the value of individuals who can enter western countries easily. All eight people arrested in Britain over the failed bomb attacks in London were doctors or medical students and all entered the country legally.
– The Guardian
The warning from Sir Alan West, the new security minister, that it could take as long as 15 years to deal with the Islamic radicalism that spawns terrorist attacks in this country will surprise no one.
We have learnt enough of the warped mindset of jihadists since September 11 to know that the roots go deep, and extirpating them will not be easy. The sheer scale of the threat is also daunting, with MI5 currently monitoring 200 terrorist cells across the country.
– The Telegraph
Luggage at Heathrow airport is to be electronically tagged in an attempt to deal with the thousands of bags that go missing from Britain’s largest airport.
The trial of the new technology will come too late for the millions of holidaymakers who will travel through Heathrow this summer amid reports that its baggage-handling operations are in chaos. BAA, the owner of Heathrow, will launch a trial of radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging at the airport in October.
– The Guardian