New Warning Against Terrorist Attack on Europe
France has been warned by Saudi Arabia of a genuine threat al-Qaeda is posing to Europe, according to the French Interior Minister.
The minister said that a message has been received from the Saudi intelligence services saying that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was active or aimed to be active.
Brice Hortefeux said that the threat was real and was directed toward the European continent and to France notably.
He added that this announcement does not overestimate or underestimate the threat but only indicates that the threat is very real.
Al-Qaeda is made of Saudi and Yemeni members and has stopped its attacks against European targets 12 months ago.
The group, based in Yemen in 2006, claims it was behind the failed attack on a U.S. plane in December.
The new alert is not considered linked in any way with the heightening of the alarm level in September, which was based by a tip-off from Algeria.
France has been under terrorist attack for the last time in 1995 when the Algerian Armed Islamic Group killed and wounded dozens in the Paris metro station.
Europe was under alert in September as the U.S. and Japanese intelligence warned that the al-Qaeda cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan may try to stage bombings in Europe. As a result the U.S.-led forces conducted a series of drone attacks on Pakistani soil with the purpose of eliminating the threat.11
