http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/06/british-taliban-linked-faisal-shahzad

Abdul Jabbar, a UK citizen who lived in Pakistan, had links to Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, according to analysts.

A British militant killed in a recent American drone strike had ties to the failed Times Square bomber and was planning to set up a British chapter of the Taliban, according to reports.

The man - identified as Abdul Jabbar, a British citizen living in Pakistan - had "some links" to Faisal Shahzad, who was yesterday jailed for life, but the nature of those ties was not clear, a Pakistani intelligence official told Reuters.

Jabbar was planning to lead a new group calling itself the Islamic Army of Great Britain, the BBC said, quoting a senior security source overseas.

Three months ago Jabbar reportedly attended a meeting of 300 Taliban and al-Qaida militants in North Waziristan, the main hub of militant activity in Pakistan. At the meeting he was allegedly asked to organise Mumbai-style attacks on targets in Britain, France and the UK. Jabbar received training in North Waziristan and survived a US drone strike targeting the network of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a major militant leader. Jabbar was killed in a second drone attack on 8 September.

Some of the specific information about the plot emanating out of Europe, mostly from intelligence agencies, has elicited scepticism in Pakistan, where lawless North Waziristan has a reputation as a notorious "information black hole".

"It's unthinkable that 300 people could meet in one location in the tribal belt. Maybe 10 or 20, but 300 is too much. It would be too much of an easy target for the drones," said Imtiaz Gul, author of a book on militancy in the frontier regions.

The emergence of Jabbar adds to a flurry of reports linking European militants based in Pakistan's tribal belt, and particularly North Waziristan, with plots against European cities.

After a drone strike that killed five German nationals in North Waziristan, German media carried details of alleged plots against prominent Berlin landmarks including a television tower. The US, UK, Japan and Sweden have warned their citizens to be vigilant against possible attacks while travelling in Europe. France has warned its citizens that a terror attack in the UK is "highly likely".

Jabbar reportedly arrived in Pakistan in May 2009. He was not a previously well-known jihadist leader but western intelligence agencies are worried about European militant wannabes streaming into the tribal belt.

"There are many self-radicalised groups and individuals who come here and try to meet with the Taliban for training and support," said Amir Rana, an Islamabad-based expert on militants.

European and American officials say they are concerned about a group of about 100 Germans who travelled to north-western Pakistan. Some of the Germans are said to have worshipped at the same Hamburg mosque as one of the 9/11 attackers.

The difficulty of detecting such migrations is complicated for British authorities by the size of the British-Pakistani population, which can help aspiring militants slip into Pakistan undetected. Few personal details about Abdul Jabbar have surfaced. His family comes from central Pakistan and Jabbar may not be his real name. Foreign militants frequently adopt a nom de guerre after that of a prominent jihadi leader, Rana said .

Another Abdul Jabbar, a commander with the sectarian outfit Jaish e Muhammad, led attacks on Christians around Islamabad in 2002, Rana said, but had since been jailed.