The British government is establishing a new special forces regiment designated to infiltrate Islamic terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

The Reconnaissance and Surveillance Regiment, comprising up to 600 troops, will either penetrate into terrorist groups directly or turn terrorists into double agents.

"It will be given the authority to operate around the world, working closely with friendly intelligence agencies such as the United State's CIA and Israel's Mossad," the paper said.

"Volunteers for the regiment, both male and female, will be taken from all three branches of the Armed Forces. Officers are keen to recruit those of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean appearance, as well as Muslims and members of ethnic minorities," it added.

Recruitment has already begun and volunteers must pass an intensive six-month training course, learning covert surveillance, communications, driving skills and first aid as well as close-quarter battle skills.

Those who pass will be sent on an Arabic course at the Armed Forces language school at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in southeastern England.

The unit will be commanded by a lieutenant colonel with a special forces background and will be based in South Wales. He will report to the Director of Special Forces.

A senior officer associated with the formation of the new regiment said: "This unit will be used primarily for intelligence gathering. The work will be dangerous, as it was in Northern Ireland, and operators will be taught how to protect themselves. The threat from Irish terror groups is far less now and although we will keep a presence in Ulster, it is time to use this force on a worldwide basis."

Britain's top police officer said earlier this month that Britain will remain the target of terrorist attacks for decades and British security services have used "massive resources" to defend against the attacks.

Source: Xinhua