Al-Qaeda plot in Norway linked to UK and US plots

Three men arrested this morning in Norway for planning terrorist attacks are linked to al-Qaeda plots in New York and Manchester, according to Norwegian and US sources.

The men had been under surveillance for a year and although it is not known whether they had a target in mind, they were allegedly attempting to make bombs out of hydrogen peroxide.

Norway may not seem an obvious target for al-Qaeda, but the organisation's second in command Ayman al-Zawahri has called for attacks on the country and Norwegian troops are also stationed in Afghanistan.

Janne Kristiansen, the head of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), said: "We believe this group has had links to people abroad who can be linked to al-Qaeda and to people who are involved in investigations in other countries, including the United States and Britain."

The alleged plots in question are thought to be an attempt to bomb the New York subway, which was foiled last September, and a plan to bomb targets in Manchester city centre, which was uncovered last April. Like the Norwegian plot, both are alleged to have involved peroxide bombs.
Anonymous officials told AP that all the Norway and New York plots were masterminded by Salah al-Somali, al-Qaeda's former chief of external operations, who was killed in a CIA drone attack last year.

Yesterday, US prosecutors charged five men in connection with the New York subway plot. One of those was 24-year-old construction worker Abid Naseer, a British man born in Pakistan. Suspected of being the ringleader of the Manchester plot, he was already the subject of a control order in the UK, but has now been arrested and is awaiting extradition to the United States. ·