Osama terror plot to nuke UK
Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 8:15 am
AL-QAIDA terrorists have been plotting to devastate London with a dirty nuclear bomb.
The evil device was to be delivered on a cargo ship and moored at a dock ready to be detonated when the wind was right.
If it had exploded, it would have contaminated a huge area and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of terrified people.
The plot, thwarted by security forces, was revealed by Tory Homeland Security shadow minister Patrick Mercer, a terrorist expert and former senior army officer.
A cargo ship suspected of carrying the bomb - the 26,000-ton MV Nisha - was stormed by the elite Special Boat Squadron in the English Channel two years ago, said Mr Mercer.
But the Indian-owned vessel was carrying sugar. The real Al-Qaida ship bound for Britain was frightened off by the raid.
The bomb would have been unlikely to cause many deaths because the radiation given off would be weak. The plan was to cause panic and paralyse the City.
Mr Mercer said: "Although there would not be mass deaths there would be huge terror."
Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden (below) still has a fleet of rogue ships which could be used as floating bombs.
Last week London Mayor Ken Livingstone revealed FOUR Al-Qaida attempts to target London had been thwarted. The People has learned the dirty bomb was one of those threats.
Others were targeting the Jewish community in north London with ricin, hitting an airliner at Heathrow with a ground-to-air missile and an attack on a soft target like a disco.
nigel.nelson@ people.co.uk
Source
The evil device was to be delivered on a cargo ship and moored at a dock ready to be detonated when the wind was right.
If it had exploded, it would have contaminated a huge area and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of terrified people.
The plot, thwarted by security forces, was revealed by Tory Homeland Security shadow minister Patrick Mercer, a terrorist expert and former senior army officer.
A cargo ship suspected of carrying the bomb - the 26,000-ton MV Nisha - was stormed by the elite Special Boat Squadron in the English Channel two years ago, said Mr Mercer.
But the Indian-owned vessel was carrying sugar. The real Al-Qaida ship bound for Britain was frightened off by the raid.
The bomb would have been unlikely to cause many deaths because the radiation given off would be weak. The plan was to cause panic and paralyse the City.
Mr Mercer said: "Although there would not be mass deaths there would be huge terror."
Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden (below) still has a fleet of rogue ships which could be used as floating bombs.
Last week London Mayor Ken Livingstone revealed FOUR Al-Qaida attempts to target London had been thwarted. The People has learned the dirty bomb was one of those threats.
Others were targeting the Jewish community in north London with ricin, hitting an airliner at Heathrow with a ground-to-air missile and an attack on a soft target like a disco.
nigel.nelson@ people.co.uk
Source