London: Al Qaeda's chief bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri is reportedly planting bombs in gift toys, which would be timed to explode once the toys are in stores for the Christmas.
According to the Daily Express, intelligence chiefs believe Al Qaeda warlords in Yemen plan to smuggle in their deadly cargo aboard freight ships after airport security was tightened following the failed ink cartridge bomb attacks 10 days back.
British surveillance experts in Afghanistan and their American colleagues reportedly had uncovered the latest threat last week.
They intercepted conversations between terrorists from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group responsible for the ink bombs, revealing they were planning a spectacular hit for the festive season. Its leader, American- born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, and his right-hand man al-Asiri are aiming to use seaports because they believe security is more relaxed there, the paper said.
With so much Christmas stock arriving in the UK, they are confident their toy bombs can remain undetected.
“Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula see the festive season as their ideal time to strike because of its importance in the Christian calendar. The bombs found at East Midlands Airport and Dubai escaped scrutiny until the last moment. It would be much easier to plant a similar bomb inside a Christmas toy,” an MI5 officer said.
Al Qaeda is rumoured to have control of at least 23 ships, nicknamed 'Osama bin Laden’s navy', and registered in the names of companies that support the terror group. MI5 and MI6 agents fear the vessels could be used to ferry toys filled with the same powerful explosive used in the ink bombs and last year’s failed Christmas Day underpants bomb plot on an airliner, the paper added.