A British born Muslim student found guilty of Islamist terrorism offences was a "wannabe suicide bomber" who police believe could have been planning to take part in alleged al-Qa'eda attacks in Canada.
Mohammed Atif Siddique, 21, who has been described as Scotland's first homegrown terrorist, provided instruction on weapons and booby-trap bomb making over the internet, and showed videos of beheadings and suicide bombers to fellow students at the Glasgow Metropolitan College.
The small town shopkeeper's son told friends that Osama Bin Laden was his god, and one classmate overheard him saying that he wanted to "bomb Glasgow". He was convicted of possessing and distributing terrorist material through websites and could face up to 15 years in jail when he is sentenced next month. Following the verdict it can be revealed that Siddique was detained at Glasgow airport last April amid fears that he was might have been on his way to Canada via Pakistan to join alleged Islamic extremists in Ontario.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/17/nterror317.xml
WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda is trying to expand through corporate-style takeovers of regional Islamic extremist groups, The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.
Citing unnamed US intelligence officials and counterterrorism experts, the newspaper said these moves indicated a shift in strategy by the terrorist group as it sought to broaden its reach and renew its ability to strike Western targets. “Certainly we do see Al Qaeda trying to influence the broader movement and to control some of these affiliates in a more direct way,” the paper quotes a senior counterterrorism official as saying.
Bruce Riedel, a senior CIA counterterrorism official until late last year, said Al Qaeda “central” stands to gain hundreds or even thousands of foot soldiers, many of whom carry European passports and do not require a visa to travel to the United States, The Times said. “I think what we are seeing is the reconstitution of their capabilities to strike targets in Western Europe and ultimately North America on a scale identical or bigger than September 11,” Riedel is quoted as saying. The report said Al Qaeda leaders - based in northwestern Pakistan - have rebuilt a network of field commanders that was largely decimated in the post-September 11 attacks on its bases in Afghanistan.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\09\17\story_17-9-2007_pg7_41