The story

The men allegedly behind last week's failed terror plots in England and Scotland have connections to al Qaeda in Iraq, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

At least some of the suspects were recruited by al Qaeda while they were living in the Middle East, the sources said.

Al Qaeda has been trying to recruit people who can travel easily to the United States and Europe and assimilate into society without causing suspicion, according to law enforcement officials. Read full article »

CNN's Kelli Arena, Andrew Carey, Matthew Chance, Paula Newton, Cal Perry, Nic Robertson and Alphonso Van Marsh contributed to this report.

All About Terrorism • Al Qaeda • United Kingdom • Glasgow