UK vigilance urged after Osama Bin Laden death
Baku, May 2 (AZERTAC). Britons have been urged to be vigilant in the wake of the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, with embassies worldwide ordered to review security, according to BBC.
Bin Laden, believed to have masterminded the 9/11 attacks, was killed by US forces about 62 miles from Pakistan`s capital.
Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the death as "a great success" but said it was not the end of terror threats.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said the network may try to reassert itself.
The Foreign Office urged Britons overseas to "exercise caution in all public places and avoid demonstrations, large crowds of people and public events".
Mr Cameron was phoned by US President Barack Obama before dawn on Monday UK time, a couple of hours before the president announced the news in a televised address. "The news Osama Bin Laden is dead will bring great relief to people across the world," Mr Cameron said.
He later spoke from the prime minister`s country residence, Chequers, saying: "It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror." He went on: "This news will be welcomed right across our country. Of course, it does not mark the end of the threat we face from extremist terror - indeed we will have to be particularly vigilant in the weeks ahead. But it is, I believe, a massive step forward."
Mr Cameron plans to make a statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon.
Following Bin Laden`s death, the US put its embassies around the world on alert, warning Americans of the possibility of al-Qaeda reprisal attacks for Bin Laden`s killing.
Mr Hague also stressed the likelihood of reprisals against UK targets.
"We must remember that this is not the end of being vigilant against al-Qaeda and associated groups, and, in fact, there may be parts of al-Qaeda that will try to show that they are still in business in the coming weeks, as indeed some of them are.
"So I have already this morning asked our embassies to review their security, to make sure that vigilance is heightened - and I think that will have to be our posture for some time to come.
"This is a very serious blow to al-Qaeda, but like any organisation that has suffered a serious blow, they will want to show in some way that they are still able to operate."
Home Secretary Teresa May said Bin Laden`s death was "an important and significant development in the struggle against global terrorism" but there was still a "real and serious threat".
"There is a continuing need for everyone to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the police," she said.
The threat level to the UK from international terrorism has remained at severe since January 2010, indicating a terrorist attack is highly likely.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which includes representatives from 16 government departments and agencies, sets the threat level.
Bin Laden was top of the US "most wanted" list, and President Obama said his death was "the most significant achievement to date in our nation`s effort to defeat al-Qaeda".
In the attacks in New York and Washington on 11 September, 2001, 67 Britons were among the 3,000 people killed when four planes were hijacked and flown into New York`s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
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