Terrorist Targets

However, Usama bin Laden has variously identified a number of other countries as allies of the US which should also be targeted.

In a statement in October 2004, for example, bin Laden's deputy, Al Zawahri, said:

"We must not wait until the American, British, French, Jewish, South Korean, Hungarian and Polish forces enter Egypt, the Arab Peninsula, Yemen, and Algeria and then begin the resistance.  We should begin the resistance now.  The interests of the Americans, British, Australians, French, Polish, Norwegians, South Koreans and Japanese are everywhere.  They all participated in the occupation of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Chechnya, or supplied Israel with the means of subsistence."  

Countries that are participating in the reconstruction efforts in Iraq have also been identified as targets.  On 18 April 2005, a statement claiming to be from Abu Musab Al Zarqawi's terrorist network in Iraq, linked to Al Qaida, appeared on several websites, threatening attacks against British forces in Iraq and "all the agents, spies offering them protection and their human shields".  See the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website for advice on travelling to Iraq (new window).

While some countries' interests may be singled out, however, attacks on generic "Western" interests, irrespective of the specific nationalities of the likely victims, are seen as equally valid.

Locations

Official personnel and property, such as diplomatic missions and military forces, are still seen as priority targets for attack, as shown by the attacks on the British Consulate in Istanbul in November 2003, the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in September 2004 and the US Consulate in Jeddah in December 2004.

However, terrorist cells are increasingly looking at less well-protected "soft" targets where Westerners can be found, such as social and retail venues, tourist sites and transport networks (rail, road and airports), as illustrated by the attacks in Bali in October 2002, Madrid in March 2004 and Egypt in July 2005.