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LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - British police will get more powerful guns, extra ammunition and train alongside elite special forces to prepare them to repel attacks like the deadly 2008 assault on the Indian city of Mumbai, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The United States and Britain warned earlier this month of an increased risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, with Washington saying al Qaeda might target transport infrastructure.
Western intelligence sources said militants in hide-outs in northwest Pakistan had been plotting coordinated attacks on European cities.
Intelligences sources said plotters may have aimed to copy the attacks on Mumbai in which 10 gunmen carried out coordinated attacks on key landmarks that killed 166 people.
The BBC reported that, as a result of the reports, British armed police units were being given more powerful guns and their marksmen would train alongside elite SAS military special forces. Police ammunition stocks were being increased, it said.
The BBC said there was no indication that such an attack was imminent in Britain.
The Home Office said it did not comment on intelligence or operational matters, but it said it kept security arrangements under "constant review to take account of the threat, lessons we have learned and new challenges."
"We know we face a real and serious threat from terrorism. The overall threat level ... remains at severe which means that an attack is highly likely," it said in a statement.
"The police regularly train and exercise for a variety of scenarios with a variety of partners," it said, referring to the SAS report.
London police declined to comment.
Only a small number of British police usually carry guns.
The last successful large-scale militant attacks in Europe were the July 2005 suicide bombings on London's transport system, which killed 52 people. Bombers killed 191 people on trains in Madrid in March 2004. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Jon Boyle)
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