Attacks lacked skill, but raised specter of Iraq-style terror
LONDON -- The attempted attacks in London and Glasgow bore the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda operation, but they lacked a key ingredient: professional execution.
While details are still emerging about the men and the methods behind the plot, analysts say the apparent ineptness in carrying it out indicates the group may have been amateurs working without the guidance or direct support of masterminds in Pakistan or the Middle East.
None of the makeshift bombs managed to detonate, and the only serious injury was suffered by one of the alleged perpetrators, who set himself ablaze.
But despite the failures, the attacks did accomplish one goal: creating fear and havoc throughout Britain as police cordoned off streets to search 19 locations, stepped up stop-and-search procedures, and banned cars from approaching terminals at many airports.
The plot also brought the specter of Iraq-style violence in Europe, sending the grim message that any jihadist with a car and easily obtained materials is capable of wreaking carnage.
"Even bombs that don't go off have worldwide repercussions, and I think this is part of the terrorist calculus as well," said terrorism specialist Bruce Hoffman, who teaches at Georgetown University . "Even if they're not successful, they still have tremendous success doing what terrorism is supposed to do: generate fear and panic."
Still, analysts say a true Al Qaeda attack would have been more expertly handled -- and deadly.
"This was probably a bunch of guys loosely connected to Al Qaeda who were sparked into action, but didn't have access to Al Qaeda money and explosives people," said Peter Lehr at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews.
The Glasgow bombers showed some of the ineptitude of the homegrown radicals who allegedly plotted to attack Fort Dix in New Jersey in May. Those suspects allegedly sent a jihadi videotape to a local store to be copied, prompting the clerk to tip off authorities.
A lack of Al Qaeda expertise does not always mean failure, however. The North African men who blew up four commuter trains in Madrid in 2004 had no apparent links to Al Qaeda, but killed nearly 200 people. It is unclear to what extent the July 7, 2005, London transit bombers received formal Al Qaeda training. Their attack killed 52.
But many more attacks by homegrown groups fail , and the most recent attempts appear to fit a general trend. Fifteen people are awaiting trial on an alleged plot foiled by British police last August to blow up as many as 10 airliners flying from Britain to the US with liquid explosives.
In 2003, police raided a London apartment and claimed to have foiled a plot to spread the deadly toxin ricin, though no ricin was found. Eight Algerians who had been living in London were either acquitted or never stood trial while a ninth was convicted of murdering a police officer.
Five Al Qaeda-linked British men were sentenced to life in prison in April over a planned 2004 bombing spree against targets including a nightclub and power plants. However, surveillance teams tracking the 2004 plotters picked up two of the later London subway attackers among the group's associates, but failed to piece together intelligence in time to halt the assault on commuters the next year.
Specialists warn that while unaffiliated radicals don't often have the support or expertise to stage a major attack, that very independence allows them to operate under the radar. British officials are reportedly monitoring more than 2,000 radicals, but it was not known whether those allegedly behind the most recent attacks were among them. 