ANALYSTS' VIEW: Post-Iraq, would-be militants eye Pakistan

(Reuters) - Pakistan has replaced Iraq as the place to go for militants bent on striking the West, but the threat of U.S. drone attacks may mean al Qaeda's raw recruits spend more time out of sight in a classroom than on an assault course.

Following are excerpts of interviews with counter-terrorism experts, who added that Somalia and Yemen are also emerging as destinations for aspiring al Qaeda fighters.

Rob Wainwright, Director of the European Union police agency Europol

"We see a pattern which shows Afghanistan and Pakistan seem to have replaced Iraq as preferred destinations for volunteers wishing to engage in armed conflict ... We still see that recruits travel to training camps as part of their radicalization process.

"Those who get training on the Pakistani-Afghan border are from various backgrounds -- for example European converts and persons with Arab, North African and Turkish backgrounds."

"Some of these persons who have been trained in Pakistan were arrested in Europe in connection with cases of attempt of terrorist attacks."

Brynjar Lia, research professor, Norwegian Defense Research Establishment.

"There is an increased emphasis on Afghanistan and Pakistan as a jihadi arena in al Qaeda's online propaganda ... The appearance of European jihadis in al Qaeda propaganda material, for example martyrdom videos, suggests the numbers are increasing."

But Pakistan's "distance from the heart of the Arab world in general, and from Palestine in particular, is a big minus compared to the Iraqi battlefield, according to al Qaeda ideologues."

Senior Belgian police officer Alain Grignard, quoted by U.S.-based counter-terrorism publication CTC Sentinel.

"Not since before 9/11 have we seen as many people travel toward the Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict region."

Brian Glyn Williams, Associate Professor of Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

"I've seen epitaphs of Kazakhs, Turks, Azerbaijanis, and Uzbekistanis on recent jihadi websites (related to the Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict zone).

British counter-terrorism source

"People are still continuing to go (from Britain). Numbers are hard to judge but it remains a matter of concern.

Drone attacks have had a suppressant effect, making training and communication harder for al Qaeda and linked groups."