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Britain's growing jihadist movement
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| 15 January 2007 |
Britain's growing jihadist movement
British government sources who spoke to Jane's in 2006 said the 7 July 2005 London suicide bombings had served to further "stir the extremist soup" in the UK and galvanise supporters of the jihad into action. While the bombings may have convinced Muslim communities in the UK of the problem in their midst, they also provided aspiring young jihadists with role-model martyrs and showed them that such attacks were possible with patience and planning.
Recent arrests and court cases support this thesis. Last year, police investigated an alleged attempt to target trans-Atlantic civil aviation, as well as networks allegedly providing funding and volunteers for violent jihad in conflict zones including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Jane's is prevented from discussing specific details of the alleged plots for legal reasons, but the picture emerging from open sources is one in which UK-based Islamist extremists are supporting or volunteering for violent jihad abroad and, in some cases, are intent on carrying out attacks on home soil.
The risk of another attack in the UK remains high. The 7 July 2005 bombings proved that limited resources can lead to some groups remaining undetected until it is too late. The Security Service has doubled in size since September 2001, yet it remains worryingly stretched to cope with a growing number of concurrent investigations. Further expansion of the service will almost certainly be required, but it takes time to recruit and train intelligence officers.
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© 2007 Jane's Information Group
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