An alleged¹ al-Qaeda militant² detained in Iraq has given details about a plan he had to attack the World Cup in South Africa next month.

伊拉克一名被囚禁的基地组织武装分子将他下个月袭击南非世界杯的计划和盘托出。

Mr Qahtani was arrested on 3 May after a note about the plot was found

The Saudi man, Abdullah Azam Saleh al-Qahtani, told reporters he had suggested an attack on the Dutch and Danish teams in revenge（为报复而……） for cartoons drawn³ of the Prophet Muhammad.

But he said senior al-Qaeda leaders had not yet approved the plan.

On Monday Iraqi police claimed to have prevented an attack on the World Cup.

The claims prompted phone calls from South African police, trying to find out what was going on.

'Target fans'

Mr Qahtani was arrested after Iraqi forces found a note detailing the plan in a hideout（隐匿处） used by two senior al-Qaeda figures, killed in April.

"We discussed the possibility of taking revenge for the insults of the prophet（先知，预言者） by attacking Denmark and Holland," Mr Qahtani told the Associated Press.

"If we were not able to reach the teams, then we would target the fans."

The plan would have included car bombs and gun attacks.

The plan had not been approved, but had been awaiting the green light from al-Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mr Qahtani said.

"It was only an idea to blow up the World Cup," he said.

"It was relayed through other men, but I didn't get a reply."

Details discovered

It is not clear if al-Qaeda in Iraq has the resources to carry out a complicated attack that far away from their home base.

A note detailing the plan and Mr Qahtani's name, was discovered in a joint⁴ US and Iraqi operation in which top al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi were killed.

Mr Qahtani was arrested by the Iraqi authorities on 3 May.

In 2006 a Danish newspaper published 12 cartoons depicting⁵（描画，描述） the Prophet Muhammad, including one that showed a bomb in his turban（穆斯林头巾） .

In the Netherlands, anti-Islamic politicians have called the Koran a "fascist⁶ book".

Fifa has said it will not comment on any specific or potential threats to the World Cup.

South African police spokesman Vish Naidoo said the South African police had only heard about the plan through the media and had not received any information from the Iraqi authorities.

Mr Qahtani arrived in Iraq from Saudi Arabia in 2004 after the US invasion. He was arrested in 2007 and held for two years in Camp Bucca, AP reported.