British bomb plots - AQI-related

AQI = al Qaeda-Iraq

Raymond Bonner and Jane Perlez in London and Eric Schmitt have the New York Times story (repost on the Sydney Morning Herald):

INVESTIGATORS examining the bungled terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow six months ago believe the plotters were linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which would make the attacks the first the group has been involved in outside the Middle East.

Evidence pointing to the involvement of al-Qaeda in Iraq includes phone numbers of group members found on the alleged plotters' mobile phones recovered in Britain, a senior US intelligence official said.

British authorities have said that the alleged 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 nightclub in central London at the end of June. The cars failed to ignite.The next day, police say, the two men rammed a car loaded with gas canisters into Glasgow Airport. It erupted in flames; the driver, Ahmed, was burned and died several weeks later.

...Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a Sunni extremist group that US intelligence officials say is led by foreigners....

...The US intelligence official who noted the evidence found on the phones was unable to provide details about how often the alleged plotters called Iraq or how soon before the attacks calls were made....

...Post-September 11 attacks in Britain, including the July 2005 bombing on London's transport system that killed 52 commuters, and several foiled plots appeared to have some connection to Pakistan. They have been conducted mostly by Britons of Pakistani origin, and some of the suspects were trained in Pakistan....

...According to officials who have been briefed on the inquiry, investigators suspect that Abdulla, the British-born doctor reared in Baghdad, was connected to the Iraq-based network. He has been charged with conspiracy to use explosives, and the trial is expected to begin next year.

Six people were initially detained in Britain in connection with the attack. Three have been released; Abdulla and two others have been charged.

In December 2006, the Associated Press reported on USA Today that Saudis were funding the Iraqi Sunni insurgency, and in July 2007, the New York Times reported that nearly half the foreigners entering Iraq to fight in the insurgency were Saudis, and Saudis made up nearly 40% of the fighters in Iraq.