LONDON (YBH) -  Special Branch, of Britain’s Scotland Yard, has reported that 25 British-born Muslims have been training in Yemen for several months,  planning airline attacks similar that tried on December 25 by Nigerian  Umar Abdulmutallab.

Al Qaeda Based in Yemen; Borders Saudi Arabia

The British in Yemen hail from Bradford, Luton and Leytonstone in East London, and were reputedly radicalized in British mosques.    A source states they are set to return to the UK early in 2010 and will then be possibly mobilized by Al Qaeda to strike.  Scotland Yard stated, “the great fear is Abdulmutallab is the first of many ready to attack planes and kill tens of thousands.” UK civil  rights differ from the United States, allowing law enforcement to keep the 25 men under constant surveillance upon their return.   Though some fit Abdulmutallab’s profile as educated and moneyed, others were former street gang members.

Part of what alerted authorities to their travel was their having paid for their tickets to Yemen in cash and very close to their travel date.  Al-Qaeda in Yemen had warned the West a few days before Friday’s attack that a bombing was to be undertaken very soon.   Terrorist Mohammed al-Kalwi issued the video threat  after a Yemeni airstrike on a militant training camp.  Just a few days later, on Thursday, he was apparently killed in an airstrike.

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Laura spent years as a Hollywood story analyst, did a big 180, and is now an entrepreneur focused on web marketing and analytics. She's also a mom of one.

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