Al-Qaida allies spread global terror

In the 13 months since the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, al-Qaida has seen its power base in Afghanistan disappear. But it has survived, thanks to new alliances with radical Islamist groups around the globe.

From Tunisia to Indonesia, passing through London, al-Qaida and this broader alliance of militant Islamists have extended the reach of their anti-western violence further than ever. Suicide attacks have proved their most lethal weapon.

Yemen

The attack on the Limburg supertanker as it lay off Yemen eight days ago appears to have been a copy of the one that killed 17 US sailors aboard the USS Cole two years ago.

Then, a speedboat full of explosives driven by a suicide bomber ploughed into the warship's hull. In the Limburg incident, the ship's captain has said a fishing boat appeared to have steamed into the vessel.

Abu Hamza al-Masria, a London radical cleric wanted in Yemen, said the attack bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida and the so-called Islamic Army of Aden-Abyan, which kidnapped western tourists in 1998. "Based on my information, Islamic groups in Yemen are uniting. The Aden-Abyan army is back. They and other militant groups are supporting al-Qaida," he said.

Pakistan

With at least eight attacks on western and Christian interests since last October, Pakistan is the hottest spot for Islamist violence. Sixteen people from western countries have been killed.

Local police report that senior al-Qaida operatives who escaped Afghanistan have linked up with the Sunni extremist organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. It has been persuaded to stop focusing on Shi'ite Muslims and redirect its violence against western targets, effectively carrying out attacks on al-Qaida's behalf. In May a suicide bomber from the group killed 11 French submarine engineers at the Sheraton hotel in Karachi.

Kuwait

The killing of a US soldier and the wounding of another on the island of Failaka last week was carried out by al-Qaida veterans from Afghanistan armed with AK-47 rifles.

The two attackers, killed by US troops taking part in a training exercise, were named as Anas al-Kandari, 21, and Jassem al-Hajiri, 28.

Kuwait's interior minister, Sheik Mohammed Khaled Al Sabah, said yesterday that 15 other Kuwaitis, who had jointly planned five more attacks on US and foreign targets, had admitted helping the two men.

Al-Kandari and the unnamed leader of the group had pledged loyalty to Osama bin Laden, though there was no evidence that the attack had been ordered from outside Yemen.

Tunisia

A Tunisian, Nizar Nawar, 24, believed to have been a veteran from Afghanistan, carried out what investigators say was the first post-September 11 al-Qaida attack outside Asia when he blew up a homemade gas truck at a synagogue on the island of Djerba.

He killed 21 people, mostly German tourists, visiting the oldest synagogue in Africa. Tunisian authorities, keen to protect tourism, claim the attack was an isolated incident and that Nawar only received help from his uncle. Western diplomats disagree and believe he must have had wider logistical support.

Morocco

Three Saudi Arabian men arrested at Casablanca airport in May were allegedly planning to attack British and US navy vessels in the Strait of Gibraltar.

The three, who had all escaped from Afghanistan, had been shopping for speedboats. Investigators say they received instructions from an al-Qaida leader, Ahmed Billal, who is also linked to the attacks in Tunisia and Yemen.

Britain and Europe

Richard Reid, the Brixton shoe bomber, recently admitted to a US court that "basically I got on the plane with a bomb. Basically I tried to ignite it".

His attempt to kill the 197 passengers and crew on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami last Christmas showed that al-Qaida units were still active in Europe, despite the heat turned on radical Islamists by security services after September 11.

Dozens of arrests of al-Qaida suspects across Europe appear to have foiled planned attacks in France, Belgium, Italy and, possibly, Germany.