Al-Qaida operating in Horn of Africa

LONDON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- The Horn of Africa ranks alongside the Middle East as an area of greatest concern to British counter-terrorism officials.

In a special report Monday, The Daily Telegraph said al-Qaida operatives are increasingly using the region, especially the failed state of Somalia, as a base of operations.

Weapons, funds and armed volunteers have been entering Somalia from across the Muslim world while some young Britons are known to have traveled to Somalia in order to fight alongside Islamist extremists, the Daily Telegraph said.

In Nairobi last week the U.S. Embassy warned that Islamic extremists in southern Somalia may be planning to kidnap Western tourists on the Kenyan coast.

Security forces in Ethiopia, the largest country in the Horn of Africa, have been warning their British counterparts of immediate and real threats, the Telegraph said.