Britain stops suspected al Qaeda bomb

By JASON BENNETTO and KIM SENGUPTA

A plot by suspected al Qaeda terrorists to blow up a target in Britain, possibly a shopping complex near the M25, is believed to have been foiled in the biggest operation carried out by MI5 against suspected Islamic extremists.

Half a ton of fertiliser, which could be used to build a bomb, was seized and eight men of Pakistani descent were arrested yesterday during a police operation involving 700 officers.

Anti-terrorist sources believe that they have prevented the first attack on British soil by followers of al Qaeda.

The early morning raids in London and the Home Counties led to the discovery of ammonium nitrate fertiliser at a lock-up storage centre in west London. It is the same explosive ingredient already used by members of the al Qaeda network in terror attacks in Bali, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Africa and the United States.

The suspects arrested yesterday are aged between 17 and 32 and are all British citizens and Muslims.

MI5 carried out a two-month surveillance operation, codenamed Crevis, in which the suspected cell is alleged to have discussed bombing a variety of targets.

According to sources, one possible target was a shopping mall near the M25.
This could include the Bluewater complex in Kent or the Lakeside centre in Essex.

Other possible targets might have been embassies in London. Sources said that the Jordanian embassy might have been a prime target.

There has been speculation that the alleged plotters might have wanted to target Gatwick or Heathrow, but there is no direct evidence to support this theory.

One of the men works at a catering company at Gatwick and another is a taxi driver who works in the same area.

The suspects are being held under anti-terrorism laws on suspicion of "being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism".

One line of inquiry is possible links with the Brixton mosque, where at least one suspect is thought to have worshipped. The south London mosque has been used by extremists, including Richard Reid, who attempted to blow up an airliner with a bomb in his shoe. According to anti-terrorist sources one of the suspects attended a training camp in Pakistan.

The fertiliser seized - which requires a plastic explosive "booster" to set it off - would have had the same power as the IRA bombs that exploded in 1996 at South Quay station in Docklands, London, and the Arndale Centre in Manchester.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch at Scotland Yard, said the alleged plot was not linked to recent bombings in Madrid.

But he said: "The threat from terrorism remains very real and the public must remain watchful and alert."

He said police were in talks with leading British Muslim groups.

"We know the overwhelming majority of the Muslim community are law-abiding and completely reject all forms of violence," he said.

The raids yesterday were in Uxbridge, Ilford and Colindale in London and in Crawley, Slough, Luton and Horley in the Home Counties.

According to German intelligence documents leaked last May, a militant Islamic cell linked to the Jordanian al-Tawhid group has been operating in Luton.

- INDEPENDENT