Britain has been made Al-Qaeda's top target, terrorism officials have reported. The BBC has been told that the terrorist network is now operating a cell structure in the UK, similar to that of the IRA group previously.

Particularly harrowing is that the network operating in the UK sees the 7 July bombings as just the beginning.

According to reports, each terrorist cell has a leader, a quartermaster dealing with weapons, and volunteers. Each cell works on separate, different plots, with masterminds controlling several different cells. In addition, the sources have explicitly explained that terrorist training is taking place in the UK and Pakistan.

Security officials are now concerned the group is targeting universities and the British community, and are now "less worried" about mosques, the report reveals.

According to the Guardian newspaper, recruits are put through a "psychologically compelling" indoctrination of weekend and evening briefings. It commences with Islamic religious lectures, but moves gradually to more radical teachings and political discussions about the position of Islam in relation to the Western world.

BBC Security Correspondent Gordon Corera has said that a general view was that Britain was particularly vulnerable because "it may be easier for al-Qaeda to strike the UK than other targets".