Mumbai terrorists had indirect links to UK, says MI5 chief

LONDON: Revealing that the Mumbai attackers had some indirect links with Britain, the chief of the UK's intelligence service has warned that the 26/11 strikes in India's financial hub, in which the gunmen targeted public places, could become a "model" for future terror attacks.

Jonathan Evans, the Director General of MI5, also said that "scores" of British Muslims continue to travel to terrorist training camps in Pakistan every year.

In a rare interaction with media coinciding with the centenary of MI5, 50-year-old Evans said the use of internet telephony during the Mumbai attacks posed new challenges to security services.

India has handed over to Pakistan and other countries taped conversations between the Mumbai terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan during the attacks.

Evans said that while calls can be monitored, phone bills - which can constitute vital evidence in prosecutions - are not available from internet phone services.

"If we are to maintain our capability we are going to have to make decisions in the next few years. Because traditional ways are unlikely to work," he said.

Evans said the MI5 had uncovered connections between the Mumbai attackers and Britain but these were not of "security significance" to the UK.

"We have looked at individuals' communications, where they have been and so on and found they have got connections with most countries including the UK, but not of national security significance," he said.

He, however, warned that Mumbai could become a "model" for future terrorist attacks in the same "iconic" way as September 11 strikes in the US.