Europe Braces for al-Qaeda Attacks

18/11/2002| IslamWeb

European countries are on heightened alert for terror attacks following a threatening taped message this week believed to be from Osama bin Laden, swoops on suspected Islamic militants in France and warnings from various officials. Britain, France and Germany are particularly wary, having been among the US allies singled out by name in the audio tape attributed to bin Laden, which was aired late Tuesday by the Arabic satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

US officials have confirmed -- either indirectly of through anonymous media reports -- that the tape was made by bin Laden, who has been the subject of a worldwide manhunt for his alleged role in masterminding the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

In France, where a number of people have been arrested on suspicion of ties to bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday that, while no specific plot had been uncovered against the country, security forces and intelligence services were mobilised.

"We are taking all the threats seriously and we are putting in place all possible measures," he told the Senate.

He added that recent arrests in the central-eastern city of Lyon "proves that there are al-Qaeda teams in France".

Last week, police arrested eight people in connection with the April 11 bombing of a Tunisian synagogue that killed 21 people, many of them French and German tourists. Three of them have since been placed under investigation.

Security has been beefed up at British, Belgian and Dutch seaports after authorities warned that terrorists could try to set off explosives -- or even a radioactive "dirty" bomb -- on ferries.

On Monday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged his country to steel itself in the face of new terrorist threats detected almost daily, and warned that waging war on terrorism does not come "without a price."

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer underlined the general feeling of concern with a speech to the German parliament Thursday in which he said "the nightmare of a huge terrorist attack has become a terrible reality".

German authorities are on their guard in the wake of several arrests of alleged al-Qaeda members. Three of the suicide hijackers in the September 2001 attacks in the United States allegedly used the northern city of Hamburg as a base.

PHOTO CAPTION

Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett (R) greets Tom Ridge, U.S. Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, on his arrival for talks in London, November 7, 2002. Ridge is in London for a series of meetings with key United Kingdom figures involved in measures to counter the war on terror. REUTERS/Michael Crabtree