Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is sending specially trained female agents to London to infiltrate opposition circles and kill or maim dissidents, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The Foreign Office, reacting to the paper's report, confirmed that "there have been incidents of this sort in the past."
The weekly said the use of the seductive agents for "honey trap" missions, codenamed Operation Falcon, had sparked a major security alert in Europe.
It said many of the women, who have been dispatched to Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, were originally belly dancers and actresses.
After an intensive training programmed, they are moved to base centers in Ankara, Belgrade, Brussels, Paris and Vienna, the paper said, and from there to their targets.
London is one of the main centers of Iraqi opposition groups in Europe.
"This is a major security alert," an unidentified Foreign Office official told the paper.
"We have seen a definite increase in Iraqi intelligence activity in the last two months."
The Sunday Telegraph said one of the women was a famous belly dancer with the stage name Maleen, and is close to Saddam's eldest son Uday. Apparently, she was spotted near the city center.
It reported that Operation Falcon was officially launched on July 6 at a meeting of security and intelligence chiefs chaired by Uday.
Asked to comment on the report, a Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are not aware of any current activity in that area, but we are vigilant to any possibility of any activity in Britain."
He added: "There have been incidents in the past, both here and in other western countries.
"It is difficult to tell the difference between opposition supporters here and special groups sent from Iraq." - LONDON (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
