mick silver
9th January 2015, 08:56 AM
Militants planning mass casualty attacks against Westhttp://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/news/2013-08-26/d19448d6-6aaa-4359-a768-eadacf5fbca9_afp-gif_new.gif (http://www.afp.com/) 15 hours ago
http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/e8eCprT6sAqgP7quFlJnMw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM3NztpbD1wbGFuZTtweG 9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02NzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/65b7b69a54c2066a9c9c0873d288c735de60378a.jpg (http://news.yahoo.com/militants-planning-mass-casualty-attacks-against-west-uk-005654650.html#)
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An undated picture obtained in London on March 28, 2013, shows Andrew Parker, the head of British domestic spy agency MI5 (AFP Photo/)
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London (AFP) - The head of Britain's domestic spy agency MI5 warned on Thursday that militant Islamists in Syria were planning "mass casualty attacks" in the West and that intelligence services may be powerless to stop them.
"We know... that a group of core al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria is planning mass casualty attacks against the West," Andrew Parker told journalists in London a day after an Islamist attack in Paris claimed 12 lives.
"Although we and our partners try our utmost, we know that we cannot hope to stop everything," he added.
Parker said that fighters returning to the West from the civil war in Syria were in danger of bringing with them a "twisted ideology" that could lead them to carry out attacks on famous landmarks at home.
Although Islamic State (IS) presented the most obvious threat, fighters aligned with the core of al-Qaeda were also a danger.
"We still face more complex and ambitious plots that follow the now sadly well-established approach of al-Qaeda and its imitators -- attempts to cause large-scale loss of life, often by attacking transport systems or iconic targets," he said.
The MI5 director general earlier said the attack against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was a "terrible reminder" of the threat facing Western nations, revealing that his agency had helped stop three terror plots "in recent months alone".
Parker called for wider powers to identify and monitor suspects, following a backlash against the security services after the extent of their snooping was exposed by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor.
Unrest, Conflicts & War
Politics & Government
Syria
MI5
London
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http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/e8eCprT6sAqgP7quFlJnMw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM3NztpbD1wbGFuZTtweG 9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02NzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/65b7b69a54c2066a9c9c0873d288c735de60378a.jpg (http://news.yahoo.com/militants-planning-mass-casualty-attacks-against-west-uk-005654650.html#)
. View photo
An undated picture obtained in London on March 28, 2013, shows Andrew Parker, the head of British domestic spy agency MI5 (AFP Photo/)
Related Stories
UK spy chief says West faces mass casualty attacks (http://news.yahoo.com/m15-says-militants-planning-mass-casualty-attacks-against-100241389.html) AFP
MI5 director warns of major terror threat (http://theweek.com/article/index/274745/speedreads-mi5-director-warns-of-major-terror-threat) The Week (RSS)
Britain boosts ports security after French attack (http://news.yahoo.com/britain-boosts-ports-security-french-attack-154849891.html) AFP
Paris shooting: Hebdo terror suspects reportedly killed by police (http://news.yahoo.com/paris-shooting-je-suis-charlie-hebdo-attack-live-coverage-151842914.html) Yahoo News
London (AFP) - The head of Britain's domestic spy agency MI5 warned on Thursday that militant Islamists in Syria were planning "mass casualty attacks" in the West and that intelligence services may be powerless to stop them.
"We know... that a group of core al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria is planning mass casualty attacks against the West," Andrew Parker told journalists in London a day after an Islamist attack in Paris claimed 12 lives.
"Although we and our partners try our utmost, we know that we cannot hope to stop everything," he added.
Parker said that fighters returning to the West from the civil war in Syria were in danger of bringing with them a "twisted ideology" that could lead them to carry out attacks on famous landmarks at home.
Although Islamic State (IS) presented the most obvious threat, fighters aligned with the core of al-Qaeda were also a danger.
"We still face more complex and ambitious plots that follow the now sadly well-established approach of al-Qaeda and its imitators -- attempts to cause large-scale loss of life, often by attacking transport systems or iconic targets," he said.
The MI5 director general earlier said the attack against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was a "terrible reminder" of the threat facing Western nations, revealing that his agency had helped stop three terror plots "in recent months alone".
Parker called for wider powers to identify and monitor suspects, following a backlash against the security services after the extent of their snooping was exposed by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor.
Unrest, Conflicts & War
Politics & Government
Syria
MI5
London
Click to view comments
View Comments (2952)