Al-Qaeda activities in Europe

[9] In 2003 Tony Blair sent armoured vehicles and hundreds of troops to London Heathrow Airport because the UK security services claimed there was a planned Al-Qaeda attack.

[13] In September 2009, Tanvir Hussain, Assad Sarwar and Ahmed Abdullah Ali were convicted of conspiring to activate bombs disguised as drinks on aircraft leaving from London and going to North America.

[14][15][16] British and US security officials said the plan – unlike many recent homegrown European terrorist plots – was directly linked to al-Qaeda and guided by senior Islamist militants in Pakistan.

[22][23] Al-Qaeda leaders including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are thought to have visited camps in Bosnia during the war.

[29] SHISH's head Fatos Klosi had said that Osama was running a terror network in Albania to take part in the war under the disguise of a humanitarian organisation reportedly started in 1994.

[34][35][36] On 2 August 2012 three members of Al-Qaeda were arrested in Ciudad Real and Cadiz, suspected of planning attacks in Spain and other European countries.

[38][39][40] Preparations for an act of terrorism against the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France were completed by European law enforcement agencies between March and May 1998.

[42] In December 2000, the "Frankfurt Group", an Al-Qaeda cell consisting of more than ten terrorists from Germany, France and the United Kingdom led by bin Laden deputy Mohammed Bensakhria was rounded up by law enforcement.

[47] In January 2015, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was responsible for coordinated attacks in Paris, including the Charlie Hebdo shooting, killing several people.

[4][48] In September 2009 security measures were heightened in response to a direct threat against Germany, through an Al-Qaeda video, the threat came about due to German participation in the Afghanistan war[49][50][51] Osama bin Laden stated:[52][53] It is shameful to be part of an alliance whose leader does not care about spilling the blood of human beings by bombing villages intentionally.