"Al-Qaeda finds three safe havens for terror training" from Times of London reports that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda have three new spots to train their would-be terrorists: Pakistan, Somalia and Algeria. While more attention has been focused on the Waziristan area in Pakistan near the Afghan border, Somalia and Algeria are also becoming players.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has moved to the front line of terrorist operations, including suicide truck bombings and the murder of European tourists. The nationalist Algerian terrorist group has been converted into an organisation posing a threat beyond Algeria’s borders. American officials estimate that there are between 300 and 400 terrorists in the mountains east of Algiers and another 200 elsewhere in the country.
The same transformation is occurring in Somalia, particularly in the south. A large number of radicalised Somalis are living in Britain and it is feared that instead of going to Pakistan for jihad training, they are travelling to Somalia.
