Iraqi threats to unleash a wave of terrorism worldwide if it is attacked by the U.S.-led forces in the Persian Gulf are being taken seriously in Western capitals.
Precautionary measures to prevent terrorist acts and protect probable targets have received top priority in Rome, Bonn, London and as far away as Australia.
Secret services are reported on “red alert.” Security forces have been beefed up at airports and railroad stations. Western diplomatic installations are under surveillance and well guarded.
The Iraqis have specifically threatened “Zionist targets.” Past experience has shown that any Jewish institution, even a kosher restaurant, is fair game.
The Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported Friday that 50 foreign nationals of Arab origin are under very close surveillance by special police units and counterespionage agents.
“All are suspected of having direct, operative links with many of the groups that comprise the complex, nebulous world of Middle East terrorism,” Corriere della Sera reported.
“They are part of the amorphous group that in case of a war in the Gulf could generate the wave of terror attacks already threatened by Saddam Hussein,” the newspaper said.
Britain has already ousted 75 Iraqi nationals, seven of them diplomats. The Foreign Office suspected they were involved in planning terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom.
In London, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has called for an increased level of vigilance by the Anglo-Jewish community. Synagogues have been urged to take precautions, because they are within the scope of terrorist attacks.
Scotland Yard’s Diplomatic Protection Group has increased surveillance at the Israeli, Egyptian and Iranian embassies in London.
ARRESTS MADE IN GERMANY
Detectives are tracking the movements of known Arab terrorists on the basis of reports that they are moving from the Middle East to European capitals.
In Bonn, German police searched several flats owned or rented by Arabs and arrested two occupants.
The German authorities are cracking down on Iraqis and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization who support Saddam Hussein.
Australian police disclosed last week that they have developed comprehensive counterterrorist measures since the Persian Gulf crisis began.
The police said a dossier of potential terrorists has been prepared, and soldiers are standing by to help.
Terrorism expert Michael Danby told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in Melbourne that the Iraqi-based Palestinian May 15 faction continues to present a threat. It attacked Jewish targets in Australia in 1982.
But Danby did not think Australian Jews would be prime targets this time. Iraq is more likely to strike at individuals and institutions in the Middle East, he said.
(Contributing to this report were Joseph Finklestone of the Jewish Chronicle in London, and JTA correspondents David Kantor in Bonn and Jeremy Jones in Sydney, Australia.)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
