A dossier prepared by the British government in the aftermath of the March
2004 train bombings in Madrid said al-Qaida is secretly recruiting Muslims in
the country's colleges, a newspaper reported Sunday.
College students with engineering or computer expertise are the terrorist
group's main targets, The Sunday Times reported, citing what it said was a copy
of a secret document from the Home Office and Foreign Office.
"Extremists are known to target schools and colleges where young people may
be very inquisitive but less challenging and more susceptible to extremist
reason/arguments," the document was quoted as saying.
The document added that recruiters are using Britain's role in the US-led
Iraq war as a way to turn likely recruits toward terrorism, saying, "A
particularly strong cause of disillusionment among Muslims is a perceived
'double standard' in the foreign policy of Western governments, in particular
Britain and the US."
On Saturday, Britain's Sky TV reported that an Internet statement said
al-Qaida is responsible for the deadly bomb attacksin London.
This is the second claim of responsibility after the Thursday attacks on
three underground cars and a double-decker bus which left more than 50 people
dead and 700 others injured in the British capital. The authenticity of the
statement could not be immediately verified.