LONDON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Intelligence officials said a plot by al-Qaida to carry out coordinated attacks in Britain, France and Germany has been uncovered.
Officials said they believe the plan likely was developed by al-Qaida leaders holed up in tribal areas of Pakistan and would involve small teams of militants taking and killing hostages, similar to the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, the BBC reported Wednesday.
The information came from Ahmed Sidiqi, a German national of Afghan descent, who was picked up in Afghanistan in July, CNN said. A German counter-terrorism source told the network Sidiqi, who was transferred to U.S. custody, worshipped at the same mosque in Hamburg as Mohammed Atta, leader of the hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Security officials in Britain said arrests weren't imminent and the national threat level would remain at severe, meaning a terrorist attack is thought to be highly likely. France and Germany also are under high security alerts, the British broadcaster said.
German officials said Wednesday they were aware of a "long-term" aim by al-Qaida to attack Western targets but it had no evidence of any "concrete" plans.
In the Mumbai attacks, 10 Pakistani gunmen killed 166 people and injured more than 300 in coordinated attacks on two luxury hotels and other soft targets, including a Jewish center. While only one of the attackers survived, some of the group held security forces at bay for more than two days at the Taj Mahal Hotel.
