Al Qaeda's three main hideouts

Times:

Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organisation, driven out of Afghanistan and defeated in Iraq, is re-emerging in strength in three alternative safe havens for training, operational planning and recruiting – Pakistan, Somalia and Algeria – according to Western intelligence and defence sources.

The core al-Qaeda headquarters in the tribal areas of Pakistan pose the gravest threat to the United Kingdom. But in Somalia and in Algeria, where the so-called al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was set up in 2004 as a powerful bin Laden offshoot, the organisation is recruiting energetically and its leaders are beelieved to have aspirations to hit Western targets.

There has been increasing evidence of bin Laden’s network rebuilding in Pakistan. The main figures are now well entrenched in the tribal areas, and although American Predator and Reaper surveillance drones, armed with Hellfire missiles and precision-guided bombs, remain in the region to eliminate al-Qaeda commanders, it seems the terrorist leaders can still communicate with each other.

The 38 countries with troops based in Afghanistan are fighting to prevent al-Qaeda ever again using the country as a safe haven, but the core al-Qaeda leaders have settled down in Pakistan and, from there, keep in contact with their main franchises in Somalia and Algeria. Two al-Qaeda leaders have been killed this year by Predator attacks, and another, Abu Ubaida al-Masri, head of external relations, died of natural causes. But one American estimate is that up to 2,000 militants, many of them foreigners, are in training compounds in Pakistan.

Al-Qaeda also appears not to be short of experienced operational commanders. One senior figure who was responsible for carrying out research into nuclear, chemical and biological systems when the organisation was in Afghanistan, is believed to be involved in trying to produce unconventional weapons to target the West. That is known to be al-Qaeda’s top ambition.

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The only place al Qaeda really feels safe right now is Pakistan. In Somalia al Qaeda has to worry about the Ethiopians and US cruise missiles which have wiped out several al Qaeda leadership targets and some of those responsible for the African embassy bombings. Algeria has been aggressively going after that branch of al Qaeda. It is only in Pakistan where there does not appear to be an aggressive attempt to locate and destroy al Qaeda.