Terrorists plan to 'blow up oil tankers and hijack cargo ships' passing through Gibraltar to wreak havoc on global economy

• al-Qaeda chiefs have reportedly instructed militants to target Gibraltar Strait
• Thousands of gallons of oil pass through Mediterranean waters every year 
• Plot involves blowing up tankers with explosives or running aground cargo
• NATO ships patrol the Strait responsible for 65 per cent of West's oil  

By JENNIFER SMITH FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 17:53 GMT, 26 October 2014 | UPDATED: 20:34 GMT, 26 October 2014

Terror chiefs have instructed militants to target oil tankers passing through the Gibraltar Strait on their way to the west in a bid to wreak havoc on the economy, experts claim. 

Jihadis have been told to sabotage the journey of thousands of tankers either with explosives or by hijacking cargo ships and run them aground.

The plans were revealed in a new al-Qaeda magazine, Resurgence, which also described British oil workers in the Middle East as at risk.

Dailymail