Terror plot linked to al-Qaeda targeting Europe foiled: Report

An al-Qaeda-linked plot to launch a Mumbai-style terror attack simultaneously on London and major cities in France and Germany was disrupted by intelligence agencies, a report has said.

The plan for suicidal onslaughts similar to the 2008 atrocity in Mumbai, where 166 people were killed in a series of gun and grenade assaults was uncovered after a combined operation involving US, UK, France and German intelligence agencies, The Guardian reported today quoting officials.

British security and intelligence sources, who have been concerned for some time about the possibility of a Mumbai-style attack in Europe, confirmed that they believed a plot was being hatched by militants based in Pakistan.

The increased rate of US coordinated drone raids along the border with Afghanistan is believed to be a response to intelligence gathered about the plot.

Quoting sources, Sky News reported that "militants based in Pakistan were planning simultaneous strikes on London and major cities in France and Germany."

The plan was in an advanced but not imminent stage and the plotters had been tracked by spy agencies "for some time".

Intelligence sources told Sky the planned attacks would have been similar to the commando-style raids carried out in Mumbai.

The report said the European plot had been "severely disrupted" following intelligence sharing between Britain, France, Germany and the US. It is not known whether the attackers are already in Europe.

News of the planned strikes came as the Eiffel tower in Paris was evacuated because of a bomb scare for the second time in two weeks.