Al Qaeda tape attacks Queen

Ayman al-Zawahiri (right) labels Queen Elizabeth a foe of Islam.

Al Qaeda has named the Queen as "one of the severest enemies of Islam" in a video justifying the July 7 bombings in London.

The Sunday Times newspaper said the videotape was passed by Britain's MI5 security service to the Queen's protection team amid fears of a possible threat to her and other Commonwealth heads of Government at their biannual summit in Malta starting on November 25.

The paper said MI5 had obtained the full video, issued by al Qaeda after the London attacks, after parts of it were broadcast on the Arabic satellite channel al-Jazeera.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman refused comment, saying it was a matter for the police.

In the 27-minute video, Ayman al-Zawahiri, a leading lieutenant of al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden, says the Queen is responsible for Britain's "crusader laws" and calls her an enemy of Muslims. The video labels her one of Islam's "severest enemies".

The full video is circulating on secure jihadist websites used to inflame and recruit terrorists.

Al-Zawahiri says in the video that British Islamic leaders who are loyal to the Queen are effectively saying: "We are British citizens, subject to Britain's crusader laws, and we are proud of our submission ... to Elizabeth, head of the Church of England," according to the Sunday Times.

In what has been interpreted as a dig at the Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella group which instructed mosques to inform on potential terrorists, he also attacked "those who issue fatwas, according to the school of thought of the head of the Church of England".

Security officials in Malta fear the Queen and other Commonwealth heads could be terrorist targets at the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit this month, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

Senior police officers and members of the island's security services have been liaising with MI5 and Scotland Yard in an attempt to disrupt any attacks.

Concern mounted that the summit might be targeted by an Islamic terrorist cell after a former Israeli Army officer appeared on Maltese television claiming that a Sudanese refugee was planning an attack.

The ex-officer, who has security contacts, said he believed that a terrorist cell had established itself on the island after entering as illegal immigrants.

The claim heightened fears that terrorists might attempt to attack the hundreds of Commonwealth dignitaries - including the Queen and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark - due to attend the conference.

A source close to the Maltese security service said the authorities were seeking a Sudanese refugee in his mid 20s, suspected of links to al Qaeda. The man, who was said to have lived on the island for a year before police raided his home last month, finding military training videos and maps, is now believed to be in Italy. However, police officials denied the report.

Police and security agencies are aware, however, that any attack during the three-day summit would represent a significant coup for a terrorist organisation.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious will be on hand and will be used by the Queen to host cocktail parties and dinners. It is understood that a six-man team from the Special Boat Service will be on board in case of terrorist incidents.

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