Al Qaeda behind UK beheading plot

Daily Mail:

A foiled plot to kidnap, torture and behead a British Muslim soldier was orchestrated by Al Qaeda, police sources have said.

Officers suspect the mastermind behind the appalling attempt to bring the horrors of Baghdad to the streets of Britain is a senior Al Qaeda terrorist with close links to Osama Bin Laden.

The alleged plan was to abduct a Muslim soldier, mirroring the murders of British hostages Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan.

The victim would have been made to plead for his life to Tony Blair, denounce the war and ultimately be executed - all on film.

In a move which would have caused unprecedented terror and revulsion, images of his death would have been posted on the Internet, security sources said.

The alleged plot follows an appeal by extreme Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed last summer for fanatics to kidnap a British soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan - branding all Muslims who serve with the coalition troops as "non-believers".

A senior security source said: "The plot involved a ruthless gang who regard British Muslim soldiers who serve in Iraq or Afghanistan as traitors for killing fellow Muslims.

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"They wanted to scare British Muslims into leaving the military and also send a message of revenge to Downing Street for sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan."

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It is understood that a tip-off from a trusted informant last summer sparked the dramatic events in Birmingham when nine men suspected of being members of the terror cell were arrested in a series of raids across the city.

During a six-month, £10million surveillance operation involving 250 police officers and MI5, cameras, telephone taps and surveillance teams had been used to monitor the group's movements.

Officers had hoped to keep the men under surveillance for a further two months to gather further intelligence but sources said the operation was brought forward following "clear indications" that the gang were making final preparations to enact their murderous plan.

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All of the arrested were of Pakistani origin. More information and links are in this earlier post on the plot. What is going on with Pakistani Muslims that has turned many of them into homicidal maniacs? Obviously they are getting their religious bigotry from the Muslim preachers of hate, but that does not explain why they are so drawn to hate and bigotry and the al Qaeda death cult and other Muslims are not. Pakistan itself seems to be in incubator of terror at this point.

The Times has the story on the soldier believed to be the intended victim of the plot. Another aspect of the story is al Qaeda's PR motivation. When you think about the PR seems to be the basis for almost all of their attacks including 9-11. One of our failings has been to adequatly respond and defeat these PR efforts. Thwarting this plot is a step in defeating their plan, but we also need to turn it into a PR debacle for al Qaeda that will alienate these young men they are trying to lure to Pakistan for indoctrination.