Britain published a new counter-terrorism strategy Tuesday, notably highlighting the risks posed by potential extremist activity in Pakistan and Somalia. While the al Qaeda network is likely to fragment over time, officials warned of the growing threat of an attack on Britain using chemical or nuclear weapons.
"There is the potential (for such an attack), given the international situation, what we believe to be the aspirations of some international terrorists," said Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. The 174-page strategy, the first unclassified document including an official assessment of the terror threat facing Britain, outlines the history of the threat and forecasts of how it will evolve in future.
A senior interior ministry official highlighted threats posed notably by Pakistan and Somalia, as well as Yemen and countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which he said were problematic because of their relative instability.
"Pakistan weaves its way through virtually everything in this strategy," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, underlining "the importance we attach to the huge amount of work were doing in (Pakistan)." "Weve got very big collaborative programmes with the Pakistani authorities, the new government ... were very interested in working with them," he said.
Asked what other countries had garnered increased attention on the counter-terrorism front since the strategy was last published in 2006, the official listed Somalia, Yemen, Mali and Niger. He added: "I dont think weve finished worrying about Iraq, and we certainly havent finished worrying about Afghanistan."