Sunday 18 April 2004, 16:59 Makka Time, 13:59 GMT
London will be hit by a big operation, says group leader
Various groups sympathetic to al-Qaida are preparing large-scale attacks against London, the leader of an Islamic group has said in remarks published in Portugal.
Shaikh Umar Bakri Muhammad, the head of the London-based group al-Muhajirun, added on Sunday in an interview with the Portuguese daily Publico that last month's deadly Madrid train bombings were carried out by a group of independent actors who back Usama bin Ladin's organisation.
"There are many youths who dream of joining al-Qaida, but worse than that, there are many 'freelancers' who are willing to launch operations similar to those by al-Qaida," he said. "The attack in Madrid was carried out by one of those groups."
"Here in London there is a very well-organised group, which
calls itself al-Qaida-Europe," he added. "I know they are on the verge of launching a big operation."
...more >>
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E3ABC09A-8A97-4195-9AD6-923B0B925ACD.htm