Secret Qaeda Documents Left on London Train

LONDON — Secret government documents on Al Qaeda and Iraq were left on a commuter train, prompting a major police investigation into the latest in a series of embarrassing security breaches, British officials said yesterday.

The documents belonged to a senior intelligence official in the Cabinet office and were found by a passenger on a London commuter train Tuesday. The envelope was then passed to the British Broadcasting Corp.

Seven pages stamped "UK Top Secret" included the latest government intelligence assessment on Al Qaeda and Iraq's security forces, the BBC said. The documents were also stamped "for UK/US/Canadian and Australian eyes only." The first page was dated June 5, the BBC reported.

Two of the assessments were made by the British government's Joint Intelligence Committee. The report on Iraq was commissioned by the Ministry of Defense. The Al Qaeda report was commissioned by the Foreign and the Home Offices.

The assessments often include intelligence material gathered from agents on the ground.

"Two documents which are marked as secret were left on a train and have subsequently been handed to the BBC," according to a Cabinet office spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government policy for civil servants.