Report: Al-Qaida has 18,000 waiting to strike

Al-Qaida has more than 18,000 terrorists waiting for the order to attack targets in Europe and the US, preferably with weapons of mass destruction, a leading London think tank said today.

The drawing power of the terror network’s multi-millionaire leader Osama bin Laden is as strong as ever – boosted by the war in Iraq – said the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The ISSS warned in its annual Strategic Survey that al-Qaida would keep trying to develop plans for attacks.