LONDON/MADRID, 1 November 2004 — Al-Qaeda is planning to attack British military bases, the Sunday Telegraph reported, quoting a top-secret British intelligence document.

There is a “substantial” threat against military bases from international terrorists organizations, said the newspaper, which claimed to have obtained the report, entitled “Security Update September 2004”.

Horse Guards Parade, Wellington Barracks, and the Royal Guard Rooms in Buckingham Palace — all in central London — face a “severe” threat, the second highest danger level, the newspaper said.

The document, marked “restricted”, has been distributed to all military garrisons in Britain, it said.

“Credible reporting continues to indicate that AQ (Al-Qaeda) and associated terrorist groups, intend to attack Western targets globally,” the report says, according to the newspaper.

“Targeting against UK and US interests both at home and abroad remains a priority for AQ... the UK remains a high priority for AQ planning for terrorist attacks and (AQ) will employ a variety of attack methods to breach physical security measures,” the document says, according to the same source.

It also warns military service personnel that there is a “real” threat against identifiable servicemen and advises against the wearing of uniform in public “especially in the vicinity of home or while traveling on public transport,” the Sunday Telegraph said.

The newspaper report comes the day after Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes in the United States, threatened new attacks in a video message broadcast by the Al-Jazeera Arab satellite television network.

Pakistanis Arrested in Spain Funded Al-Qaeda

Ten Pakistanis arrested in mid-September in Barcelona were allegedly funding the Al-Qaeda network by transferring ill-gotten money to Pakistan from Spain, a newspaper report said yesterday.

The men wired money earlier this year to three collaborators of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is suspected of having planned the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, El Pais reported citing sources close to the investigation.

The paper did not say who had received the money, but said they had been arrested in a swoop earlier in 2004 in Pakistan during which one of them was killed.

The Pakistanis detained on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group could have made up to 18,000 euros ($23,000) per day from trafficking in drugs, stolen bank cards and counterfeit passports, the report said.

“All clues indicate part of that money was sent to (the Pakistani cities) of Karachi and Islamabad to fund terrorist activities,” El Pais reported.