A Pakistani soldier patrols the border with Afghanistan in North Waziristan, where Abdul Jabbar is said to have met Taliban and al-Qaida militants. Photograph: Declan Walsh for the Guardian
A British militant killed in a recent American drone strike had ties to the failed Times Square bomber and was planning to set up a British chapter of the Taliban, according to reports.
The man - identified as Abdul Jabbar, a British citizen living in Pakistan - had "some links" to Faisal Shahzad, who was yesterday jailed for life, but the nature of those ties was not clear, a Pakistani intelligence official told Reuters.
Jabbar was planning to lead a new group calling itself the Islamic Army of Great Britain, the BBC said, quoting a senior security source overseas.
Three months ago Jabbar reportedly attended a meeting of 300 Taliban and al-Qaida militants in North Waziristan, the main hub of militant activity in Pakistan. At the meeting he was allegedly asked to organise Mumbai-style attacks on targets in Britain, France and the UK. Jabbar received training in North Waziristan and survived a US drone strike targeting the network of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a major militant leader. Jabbar was killed in a second drone attack on 8 September.
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