http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1051116/posts Hunt for UK terror cell; may be carrying legitimate UK, US or other European passports
Observer ^ | 01/04/03 | Peter Beaumont and Antony Barnett
Posted on 01/03/2004 6:08:54 PM PST by Pikamax
Hunt for UK terror cell
"Hijack gang 'have British passports'"
Peter Beaumont and Antony Barnett Sunday January 4, 2004 The Observer
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Intelligence officials hunting Islamist terrorists suspected of planning attacks on British Airways flights believe they may be carrying legitimate American, UK or other European passports to try to beat airport security. According to US sources, last week's cancellation of the BA flights to Washington and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia was triggered by fear that terrorists with legitimate 'clean aliases' were planning attacks over the New Year holiday.
The alert comes amid compelling new evidence of determined efforts by jihadist groups to recruit suicide bombers in the UK and Europe both for operations against the American-led coalition in Iraq and against domestic targets.
Intercepts from a Western intelligence agency seen by The Observer reveal that jihadists regard London as a key financing and recruiting centre for their efforts.
Although Whitehall sources strongly denied suggestions that UK passport holders were suspected in the threat to British Airways, telephone intercepts seen by this newspaper make clear that Islamist terror cells are deliberately targeting 'well-educated' foreigners, Britons among them.
In one call, an unidentified jihadist tells a colleague: 'We need foreigners. We have Albanians, Swiss and English... all that is important is that they are of a high cultural level ... businessmen, professors, engineers, doctors and teachers.'
The focus on well-educated, capable and highly committed 'foreigners' was a hallmark of the al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, which ran a strict selection policy for its students."