Terrorists target the mentally ill as useful

Police in the southwest England town of Exeter charged Nicky Reilly, a British convert to Islam, with terrorism in the May explosion and alleged that extremists took advantage of his problems to groom him for a suicide mission.

“Our investigation so far indicates Reilly, who had a history of mental illness, had adopted the Islamic faith,” said Tony Melville, a deputy chief constable of the Devon and Cornwall police force. “We believe, despite his weak and vulnerable illness, he was preyed upon, radicalised and taken advantage of.”

Although the explosion in Exeter did not get much international attention, it has raised concerns among Western anti-terror officials because it resembles cases in Iraq in which militants used people with mental problems for suicide bombings.

“Here was a man with a borderline IQ and mental problems who was apparently recruited by extremists,” said a senior British anti-terror official, who asked to remain anonymous because of restrictions on discussing investigations. “It’s a method that we are aware of in Iraq. This shows we have to expand our attention to new areas where radicalisation can take place. Not just prisons or schools, but mental institutions and the mentally ill.”

Every year since 2003, usually during the summer vacation season, extremists have tried to strike Britain. They succeeded July 7, 2005, when a group of Britons of Pakistani descent killed 52 people in suicide bombings on subway trains and a bus. There have been several close calls, including a failed attack in July 2007 in which suspects tried to explode two car-bombs in a London nightclub district, then rammed a flaming, explosives-packed car into a terminal at the Glasgow airport.

This year, the threat seems to have taken on a new face. Radicals have popped up in unexpected places with diverse backgrounds. Unlike previous cases, they do not appear to have strong links to international networks such as al-Qaeda.

In April, police arrested a 19-year-old student living with his family in an affluent suburb of Bristol and confiscated explosives in his fortified top-floor apartment. The suspect, Andrew Ibrahim,...