April 30, 2007	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 12, 1428

LONDON, April 29: Britian’s security agencies have hit the panic button once again as following disclosure that Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, the Al Qaeda man who was allegedly involved in masterminding one of the three attacks on President Musharraf, had allegedly considered poisoning Britain’s water supply and attacking other utilities.

According to a report published in Times on Sunday, poisoning water was one of a series of plots discussed by the former major in Saddam Hussein’s army. Others included attacking Heathrow, blowing up London Underground trains and assassinating VIPs.

The Pentagon disclosed last week that al-Hadi had been taken into CIA custody last year while he was on his way to Iraq. Intelligence officials believe he was intending to manage Al Qaeda’s affairs there and possibly focus on operations against the West.

Last week The Sunday Times cited a leaked document prepared by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which is run by MI5, saying that he was calling for an attack on Britain. The document said al-Hadi wrote in a letter that he wanted a large-scale attack — “ideally” before Tony Blair steps down as prime minister this summer.

Sources familiar with MI5 reports on Al Qaeda said on Saturday that al-Hadi was also believed to have met two of the suicide bombers who attacked London on July 7, 2005, at a training camp in Pakistan in 2004.

The meeting was instrumental in pointing Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, two of the July 7 gang, towards a suicide attack on the London Tube.

“They were originally just recruiters and targetters for Al Qaeda in Britain. Their initial role with Al Qaeda was talent-spotting. But they were reassigned after the meeting with al-Hadi,” one source said.

Al-Hadi’s importance in the Al Qaeda leadership emerged after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks was captured in Pakistan in 2003. Mohammed is said to have described a series of “brain-storming” meetings at which the two Al Qaeda planners discussed attacks on Britain.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph has revealed that suspects linked to Al Qaeda have obtained sensitive jobs in vital industries that could be the target of terrorist attacks.

The individuals were uncovered by police and the security services in operations, designed to protect key British sites such as transport hubs, power stations and the water supply.

Security chiefs believe that they may have become radicalised while already in employment, thus evading the strict vetting procedure for applicants for security-sensitive posts.