The Channel Tunnel (?The Chunnel?) between the UK and France is used by millions of rail passengers each year and is believed to be one of the most prominent targets for Islamic militants. The threat alert was published in The Observer after a classified report by the French Foreign Intelligence Service (DGSE) was leaked to the newspaper (source). The December 19, 2006, report stated that the DGSE had been alerted to the threat early in 2006 by the US CIA and was described as a long-term threat, although the holiday season was deemed as especially vulnerable. US sources also confirmed that they regard the current threat to the Chunnel as ?sky high,? stating that chatter between several militants had risen to a worrisome level.
According to the report, a group of militants in Western Europe, possibly Britons of Pakistani origin, were being directed from Pakistan to carry out an attack on the busy rail system. The DGSE stated that the threat level was greatest between September 2006 and April 2007. This coincides with another recent threat, also revealed on December 19 by French intelligence officials, to the French presidential elections, which are to take place in April .
The rail management has long battled an overwhelming influx of illegal immigrants who attempt to enter the UK through the Chunnel. In 2002, the European Commission harshly criticized the French government for not providing adequate security and for failing to comply with EU rules (source). At the time, officials confirmed that thousands of asylum seekers were able to slip through security and make their way to Britain each year. Although France promised to step up their security measures, sufficient improvements still seem lacking. In early 2006, rail workers went on strike, protesting what they called negligent security arrangements.
If terrorists were to succeed in striking the Chunnel rail system, the consequences would bring devastating results. Of the 31 mile track, 23 miles are under water. An explosive detonated under the seabed would need to cause only a small hole in the Chunnel to surge millions of gallons of water in in a matter of minutes. Militants are aware of this fact and counter-terrorism officials are equally aware of the ambitions of several terrorist groups to cause such mass destruction and casualty. Other rail systems with under or over water passages have been threatened in the past, including the PATH train tunnels in New York and the metro system in Washington DC (Terror Web Watch).
In the light of the Madrid and London train bombings and the plot to the German rail system , European counter-terrorism officials are highly anxious. The reports exposing the safety measures on the Chunnel become increasingly troublesome as security breaches are revealed. Providing that such large numbers of illegal immigrants are able to circumvent security with relative ease, terrorists will be able to infiltrate the system as well using the same routes.
