By Martin Banks - 24th May 2011
We will all have to be on our guard
De Kerchove
EU counterterrorism coordinator Gilles De Kerchove has warned Europe to be 'on its guard' against reprisals for the death of Osama Bin Laden.
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, De Kerchove said Bin Laden's death was a "great success" and "struck at the heart' of Al Qaeda.
But he cautioned, "The threat is still high. I have no material information to back this up but there could be retaliations and reprisals in Europe soon.
"It will also be the tenth anniversary very soon of the 9/11 terrorist attacks so we will all have to be on our guard."
He added, "Let us remember that it took ten years to get Bin Laden and his death does not mean that Al Qaeda are finished or that there won't be any more terrorist attacks."
He said that other groups were still active in various parts of the world and described the current situation in the north Caucasus as "quite worrying".
"There are foreign fighters in these places who are being trained to fight in 'hotspots' and also to plan attacks in Europe."
De Kerchove, who was addressing a meeting of the security and defence sub committee on the possible consequences of Bin Laden's demise, said his death should be seen as a success not just for the US but "for all of us who have put so much effort into fighting terrorism."
The Belgian official said, "I believe he was already symbolically dead and that his assassination strikes at the heart of Al Qaeda and its leadership.
"In terms of what the consequences will be I think it is still early days to make a full assessment and whether we can say he was directly involved in recent terrorist attacks, including the attempt to blow up trains in the US.
"But I do believe that his death will strengthen the determination of Pakistan to combat terrorism."
De Kerchove also expressed concern that his publicly-made fears of possible terrorist attacks on Europe's transport sector had, so far, "fallen on deaf ears".
He told committee members that, in the past, he had warned that the transport infrastructure, including underground stations and the rail network, could prove a possible terrorist target.
He said, "This seems to have fallen on deaf ears though. I think we need to be very mindful of this and focus our attention a lot more on the transport sector."
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