Terrorist were planning a chemical attack on London

Sunday Telegraph:

Terrorists were planning a chemical attack in London similar to the outrage on the Tokyo underground, according to police and the security services.

MI5 operatives suspect that al-Qa'eda sympathizers intended to produce a nerve agent - probably sarin - and release it in a confined space, such as a tube carriage, to maximize the number of casualties.

The sarin attack on three railway lines in the Japanese capital killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000 in March 1995. It was the world's first major chemical attack and used sarin, a nerve agent which attacks the respiratory system.

Security sources suspect that a new atrocity was planned on or close to the anniversary of the July 7 attacks on London, when four terrorists killed themselves and 52 others, and injured more than 700 people. This would have provided a rallying call to al-Qa'eda sympathizers to carry on their "jihad" - or holy war - against the West.

Officers were last night continuing to question two men after a raid on a house in Forest Gate, east London. The men arrested are brothers: Mohammed Abul Kahar, 23, and Abul Koyair, 20. Both deny any offences.

The elder brother was shot in the shoulder during a police raid at 4am on Friday. He was later arrested under the Terrorism Act after being treated for the gunshot wound in the Royal London Hospital, where he is still recovering.

Senior police sources said they were searching for an "improvised device rather than a sophisticated weapon" capable of releasing chemicals. The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that intelligence obtained by MI5 suggested that terrorists were trying to acquire material via the internet which could be used to develop a nerve gas capable of killing and injuring thousands of people.

Security sources say that the terrorist threat facing Britain has developed into a "covert conspiracy" involving hundreds of men and women living ordinary lives in the nation's suburbs. They form an estimated 1,200 strong "army" of terrorists believed to be involved in at least 20 major terrorist plots.

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Detectives believe it is more likely that sarin or an alternative nerve agent would be released from a canister or flask.

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Such an attack would be a strategic blunder almost on par with the 9-11 attacks. Such an attack would re-energize the war effort against al Qaeda just as it is flagging in many quarters as liberals have wanted. What they have done is remind people in a vivid way what the enemy is capable of and his complete lack of scruples or morality.