Al-Qaeda plotting to cripple world trade, says UK navy chief
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, Aug 5, IRNA -- Al-Qa`eda and other terrorist groups are plotting to launch attacks on merchant shipping that could threaten world trade, according to Britain`s Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Alan West. "What we`ve noticed is that al-Qa`eda and other organizations have an awareness about maritime trade. They`ve realized how important it is for world trade in general. They understand that significance," he said Thursday. Sea-borne terrorism could potentially cripple global trade and have grave knock-on effects on developed economies, the navy chief warned in a rare interview with shipping daily Lloyd`s List. The last reported terrorist threat to merchant shipping was the attack on the French supertanker Limburg off the Yemen coast in October 2002, which was blamed on al-Qaeda. Britain`s highest-ranking commander in the Royal Navy revealed that Western governments have intelligence that terrorists view shipping as an attractive target and have plans to blow up ships. "We`ve seen other plans from intelligence of attacks on merchant shipping. I can`t give you detail on any of that, clearly, but we are aware that they have plans and they`ve looked at this," he said. West suggested that the biggest risk to shipping was in ports and maritime choke points such as the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, where ships concentrate in large numbers as they sail through narrow waterways. He highlighted the role that the Royal Navy and its `coalition` counterparts play in deterring maritime attacks, including in the Strait of Gibraltar, where merchant ships have been escorted by NATO since an al-Qaeda cell was arrested by Moroccan authorities. HC/1416
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