Terror plot targeting Europe foiled

UK: Intelligence agencies have disrupted a Pakistan-based plot to launch terror attacks in Britain, France and Germany, Britain's Sky News television reported Tuesday, citing intelligence sources.

Simultaneous strikes were planned in London and major cities in France and Germany and the plan was advanced but the attacks were not imminent, according to the broadcaster.

Militants based in Pakistan had been planning the attack and had been tracked by spy agencies for some time, said Sky.

The attacks would have been similar to commando-style raids carried out in Mumbai, India, intelligence sources were cited as telling the broadcaster. The plot in Europe was uncovered after intelligence-sharing between London, France, Germany and the United States, said Sky.

When investigators discovered the plan, the US military began helping its European allies track down the organisers in Pakistan, said the broadcaster.

The report of the foiled plot came after official warnings in France of an imminent terrorist attack.

It also came on the same day tourists were evacuated from the Eiffel Tower in Paris following the second bomb alert this month at the world famous landmark.

LONDON, Wednesday, AFP