Mom arrested in deaths of babies
Uncovered underpants bomb plot
ABritish agent who risked his life to infiltrate an alQaeda cell plotting an underpants bomb attack worked undercover for up to a year, The Telegraph has learned.
As well as smuggling out the latest bomb, he passed on vital information about the movements of al-qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
His mission in Yemen also gave him an insight into the plans of Ibrahim al-asiri, a master bombmaker, that included using cameras and hard disk drives to hide explosives.
Sources said the agent was moving in fundamentalist Islamic circles in Britain and at least one other European country when he was recruited by MI5, with the help of Saudi intelligence.
He is said to be in his late twenties or early thirties and of “Middle Eastern” origin. According to one report, he was not originally British but was given a passport “as part of the ruse.”
He travelled to Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, where he joined an Arabic language school in the hope of making contact with al-qaeda extremists. It was the same route taken by Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian who had studied in London and tried to blow himself up with a similar device on a transatlantic flight to Detroit, Mich., on Christmas Day three years ago.
British and Saudi intelligence officers hoped that the agent’s British passport would make him “irresistible” for al-qaeda as it sought to smuggle a suicide bomber on to a U.s.-bound plane.
His handler was a Saudi officer who travelled with him to Yemen, one source said. The agent was said to have been in the mountains of southern Yemen for several months.
He left two weeks ago on his “mission” and once he was safely back with his handlers, the CIA began a series of drone strikes against the AQAP.
The risk he took was illustrated in March, while he was still under cover, when the AQAP released a video of an alleged Saudi spy apparently being executed.
Both MI6 and the CIA are thought to be extremely unhappy that details of the undercover operation became public, potentially endangering future attempts. Downing Street declined to comment on the case.
David Cameron’s official spokesman told reporters: “I understand there is an investigation underway, being led by the Americans.
“It is a matter for the U.S. authorities. Clearly, we think that sensitive information should be protected.”
Nigel Inkster, a former assistant chief of MI6, said on Twitter, “The revelations about the British agent remind us that Beltway leaking is a major security threat,” a reference to Washington.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the chairman of the parliamentary intelligence and security committee, said leaks about operations could be “extremely harmful.”
“It can prevent the effective involvement of intelligence officers or agencies in operations that are designed to save lives either in this country or other countries,” he said.