Plot to attack European cities by Pakistani militants foiled

LONDON - A major terror plot by Pakistan-based militants to launch Mumbai-style attacks in Britain and other European countries has been thwarted by intelligence agencies, a media report said.

Pakistan-based militants were planning simultaneous strikes on London and major cities in France and Germany, Sky News reported on its website late Tuesday.

The plan was in the advanced but not imminent stage and plotters had been tracked by spy agencies “for some time”, said Sky’s foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall.

Intelligence sources told Sky the planned attacks would have been similar to the commando-style raids carried out in Mumbai.

Then, Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba killed 166 people in a series of gun and grenade attacks in the Indian city.

Marshall said the European plot had been “severely disrupted” following intelligence sharing between Britain, France, Germany and the US.

It is not known whether the attackers are already in Europe.

News of the planned strikes came as the Eiffel Tower in Paris was evacuated because of a bomb scare for the second time in two weeks.

It doesn’t necessarily mean it was a target, but it shows how nervous the French are,” added Marshall.

When the terror plan came to light, the US military began helping its European allies by trying to kill the leaders behind the plot in Pakistan’s Waziristan region.

There have been a record 20 missile attacks using drone aircraft there in the past 30 days.

I am led to believe a number of these attacks were designed against the leadership of this particular plot, which had an Al Qaeda and possibly some sort of Taliban connection projecting into Europe,” Marshall added.

And they have killed several of the leaders - which is why the terror threat has not risen.”

Britain’s terror threat level remains at severe following the attempted attack on Detroit airport last Christmas.