Iraq strikes could bring more terror attacks

Radical Muslim leaders were today warning Tony Blair and George Bush that a war against Iraq could spark September 11-style terrorist attacks in Britain and the US.

London-based fundamentalists were issuing a joint "Islamic verdict" condemning plans for US-led military action against Saddam Hussein.

At a press conference at a central London hotel, several extreme Islamic groups were warning that the inevitable consequence of such a war would be retaliation.

"If the US and the UK continue to play with fire there can only be one consequence which is of them to burn their hands and to choke on the smoke - September 11th being an example," they said in a statement before the meeting.

Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, a north London cleric and leading figure in the fundamentalist Al-Muhajiroun group, was being joined at the meeting by Sheikh Abu Hamza, another controversial cleric based in the capital.

The conference was also featuring Yassir al-Sirri, an Egyptian who was freed last month in London after the US dropped extradition proceedings against him.

The United States had accused Al-Sirri of helping to finance an Egypt-based terrorist organisation called the Islamic Group.

Sheikh Omar Bakri yesterday urged Muslims in Britain not to adopt violent tactics but said he knew Islamist radicals abroad were threatening to launch retaliatory attacks for any assault on Iraq.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sheikh Omar Bakri said he condemned all violence, but described the September 11 suicide hijackings as "a direct response to the evil American policy in the Muslim world".

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