Abdul Jabbar, a UK citizen who lived in Pakistan, had links to Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, according to analysts
In this file photograph, a Pakistani soldier patrols the border with Afghanistan in North Waziristan, where Abdul Jabbar is said to have met with Taliban and al-Qaida militants Photograph: Declan Walsh for the Guardian
A British militant killed in a recent American drone strike had ties to the failed Times Square bomber and was planning to set up a British chapter of the Taliban, according to reports.
Abdul Jabbar, a British citizen living in Pakistan, had "some links" to Faisal Shahzad, who has been jailed for life, but the nature of those ties was not clear, a Pakistani intelligence official told Reuters.
Jabbar was planning to lead a new group calling itself the Islamic Army of Great Britain, the BBC said, quoting a senior security sources overseas.
Three months ago Jabbar reportedly attended a meeting of 300 Taliban and al-Qaida militants in North Waziristan, the main hub of militant activity in Pakistan. At the meeting he was allegedly tasked with organising Mumbai-style attacks on targets in Britain, France and the UK. Jabbar received militant training in North Waziristan and survived a US drone strike targeting the network of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a major militant leader. Jabbar was killed in a second drone attack in September.
The emergence of Jabbar adds to a flurry of reports linking European militants based in Pakistan's tribal belt, and particularly North Waziristan, with plots against European cities.
After a drone strike that killed five German nationals in North Waziristan, German media carried details of alleged plots against prominent Berlin landmarks including a television tower. The US, UK, Japan and Sweden have warned their citizens to be vigilant against possible attacks while travelling in Europe. France has warned its citizens that a terror attack in the UK is "highly likely."
Jabbar reportedly arrived in Pakistan in May 2009. He was not a previously well-known jihadist leader but western intelligence agencies are worried about European militant wannabes streaming into the tribal belt.
Coppied by http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/06/british-taliban-linked-faisal-shahzad
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