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01/02/2007 | Britain's Timely Terrorism Arrests

Stratfor Staff

Nine suspects were arrested in Birmingham, England, on Jan. 31 in a plot that reportedly involved kidnapping a British Muslim soldier and then posting a video of his torture and gruesome death on the Internet.

 

The timely arrests -- apparently shortly before the plot was to be realized -- demonstrate the ability of British police and counterterrorism agencies to respond effectively to a threat that could have had serious ramifications in the United Kingdom

Authorities in Birmingham, England, arrested nine men Jan. 31, accusing them of involvement in a terrorist plot. Local media, citing unnamed sources, said the group aimed to kidnap a Muslim soldier in the British army and then post images of his torture and beheading on the Internet. The timely arrests -- apparently shortly before the plot was to be realized -- demonstrate the ability of British police and counterterrorism agencies to gather intelligence and effectively respond to a threat that could have had serious ramifications in the United Kingdom.

The raids began at around 4 a.m. local time at total of 12 addresses, including houses, a store and an Islamic bookshop, in the Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston areas of Birmingham. Police also reportedly are focusing on a local Internet café and cell phone store, possibly indicating the plot was discovered by monitoring jihadist Web sites and chat rooms or by intercepted cell phone communications. Authorities also could have discovered the plan from an informant close to the suspects.

Birmingham, which has a large immigrant population, has been connected to jihadist elements in the recent past. The August 2006 plot to use liquid explosives to destroy several airplanes in flight between London and the United States has been linked to Birmingham, while two of the suspects behind the July 2005 suicide attack against the London Underground supposedly were introduced to Afzal Shaan, an alleged bombmaking expert based in Birmingham. Additionally, Yassin Omar, who allegedly plotted the failed follow-up Underground bombing, was arrested in Birmingham on July 27 after fleeing there from London.

Birmingham also was the hometown of British soldier Cpl. Jabron Hashmi, who died along with another soldier in a July 2006 rocket-propelled grenade attack in Afghanistan, making him the first British Muslim to die in the fighting. After Hashmi's death, local Muslim radicals denounced him for serving with the British army in Afghanistan.

If indeed the plotters in this latest case intended an Iraqi-style beheading -- and subsequent airing of the torture -- they possibly were hoping to evade detection by avoiding having to acquire weapons or explosive devices. All they would have needed is a knife and a video camera. Furthermore, attacking a lone person would be easier to pull off than staging a more complex operation to bomb the Underground or an airplane.

Despite the simplicity, a gruesome attack of this nature would be as effective -- perhaps even more so -- as a subway or airplane bombing in spreading fear among the British population. If the plotters were successful, and the tactic were adopted by other cells, the discovery of headless bodies at seemingly random locations around the country could easily lead to mass hysteria. The plot certainly was more personal and violent than a relatively random subway or airline bombing.

British authorities reportedly know the alleged plotters' intended victim and have placed him in protective custody. That means he probably was known, perhaps personally, to the suspects, who reportedly include British citizens of Pakistani descent.

Even though the plot failed, it still could provoke a backlash, continuing the trend of polarization in British society and the alienation of Muslim youth. This could then lead to further radicalization of young Muslims -- one of the goals of jihadists in the United Kingdom.

Stratfor (Estados Unidos)

 



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