A new bomb was discovered planted on a high-speed railway line linking Madrid and Seville

WORLD CAPITALS, April 3 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A fever of terror scare is spiraling up in western countries, prompting tighter security restrictions and more coordinated anti-terror measures.

In Britain, Washington’s staunchest ally in the Iraq invasion, the government would use a much innovative way for instructing people what to do in the event of a terrorist attack.

A booklet of these instructions would be sent by the government to each home in the country, the Financial Times business daily reported on Saturday, April 3.

Sir John Stevens, the head of London's Metropolitan Police and the country's most senior police officer, has recently warned that an attack in Britain is "inevitable".

In a major operation earlier this week, British anti-terrorist police arrested nine men in raids which apparently foiled a plot to build and detonate a powerful bomb.

British Foreign Minister urged in a ceremony on Wednesday, March 31, that the campaign should not be seen as anti-Muslims.

This came the same day the Muslim Council of Britain called on mosque imams and community members to be vigilant against "any mischievous or criminal" elements and report them to police.

Trains, Buses Warning

In the U.S., the Home Department and the FBI warned Al-Qaeda and other groups could soon launch a series of attacks on passenger trains and buses similar to recent bombings in Spain.

In a bulletin dispatched Friday, April 2, they said the bombings could be expected as early as this summer, American officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity.

The federal government said readily available materials such as ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel could be used to manufacture bombs that are likely to be hidden in simple, unremarkable luggage like backpacks and duffel bags, they added.

The officials cautioned, however, that the bulletin was not backed by any specific intelligence pointing to an imminent strike and should be seen as a precaution.

The U.S. will hold presidential, congressional and local elections on November 2 but campaigns are expected to reach their peak this summer with the Democratic and Republican Party conventions in Boston and New York respectively.

This comes amid indications of eroding public trust in the ability of President George W. Bush’s administration to defend the U.S. against terrorism.

A new CBS News poll released Friday showed that 53 percent of the population believe that the administration’s policies are making the country safer from terror, down from 62 percent three weeks ago.

The American warnings followed the discovery in Spain of a new bomb planted on a high-speed railway line linking Madrid and Seville.

Spanish authorities said Friday the device appeared to be similar to those used in the March 11 bombings on four commuter trains in Madrid that killed 191 people.

NATO Joins In

NATO also agreed on a raft of measures to strengthen its fight against terrorism, including greater sharing of intelligence on extremists.

In a statement, NATO foreign ministers including, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, said the alliance provided "an essential transatlantic dimension to the response against terrorism".

They agreed to improve the sharing of intelligence, to give enhanced support if a NATO member suffered a terror attack, and to reinforce security for this summer's Athens Olympics and European football championships in Portugal.

NATO had already promised to look into providing surveillance plans and logistical support for the August Olympics and the June football tournament.

Terrorism Czar

The E.U. was also galvanized into action, notably through the appointment of a new anti-terrorism coordinator - former Dutch deputy interior minister Gijs de Vries.

Powell welcomed the appointment of de Vries, and said Europe and the U.S. could work much more in jointly combating terrorism.

"We need to do more in terms of tracking terrorists across borders from one country to another," he told reporters.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer also said that the alliance was keen to bolster its anti-terrorism cooperation with the E.U.

Similar fears also pushed other European governments into ratcheting up security measures at stations.

France has assigned 500 additional police officers and 250 extra soldiers to patrol train stations, commuter rail stations and airports in Paris, a police spokesman said.

The security forces are carrying out random checks of passengers and luggage, but they are not attempting systematic inspections.

It has even weighed installing metal detectors in railway stations - an idea that has been dismissed as impractical by the German government.

In Italy, the Interior Ministry is considering doubling the 12,000 police and military personnel who guard "sensitive targets".

Italy's support of the American-led invasion of Iraq has added to the fears of some Italians. Rome has nearly 3,000 troops in Iraq.

A series of coordinated raids in Turkey and four European countries on Thursday, April 1, helped nap 53 suspected members of an outlawed armed Marxist group commanding a campaign of murder in Turkey over the past three decades.

Canada Begins Detentions

"Loads of Muslims have been questioned about activities going back to the 60s," Qasim said

In Canada, Mohammed Momin Khawaja, 24, was arrested and charged under an anti-terrorism law with aiding a terrorist group and facilitating terrorist activity in both Ottawa and London, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

Officials have refused to say whether his case is connected to the arrest of eight men snared in anti-terror raids in London.

Khawaja's lawyer, Steven Greenberg, condemned the conditions under which he was held.

Qasim Khawaja, his brother, accused the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the country's intelligence services CSIS of harassing Muslims.

"Loads of Muslims have been questioned about activities going back to the 60s," he said.

Khawaja was the first person charged under new Canadian anti-terror legislation.