Iraq Al Qaeda Link to U.K. Attacks?

The terrorists involved in the unsuccessful attacks in London and Glasgow in June had links to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, making them the first that the group has been implicated in outside of the Middle East, The New York Times reports.

The evidence includes phone numbers of members of the Iraqi group found on the plotters’ cellphones.

British authorities have said that the plotters, Bilal Abdulla, a British-born doctor of Iraqi descent, and Kafeel Ahmed, an Indian aeronautical engineer, parked two vehicles laden with gas canisters and explosives near a popular nightclub in central London. The cars, apparently positioned to strike people leaving the nightclub, failed to ignite.

The next day, the two men rammed a Jeep Cherokee loaded with gas canisters into the Glasgow airport. It erupted in flames (photo), and the driver, Ahmed, was severely burned and died later.

The Times noted that British intelligence agencies have feared a blowback from Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war.

More here.