Western intelligence has warned energy-rich Gulf states that Al-Qaeda is on the verge of launching attacks mainly on ships after regrouping in the past few months. The Al-Qabas daily, citing unnamed Kuwaiti security sources, today said that Al-Qaeda has trained operatives in the region to carry out attacks on war, commercial and passenger vessels in the Gulf and Arabian Sea.<br/><br/>The Kuwaiti security sources said western intelligence has urged Gulf states to boost security measures to provide protection for ships, especially oil and gas tankers. The sources said the Al-Qaeda network has been able to regroup over the past few months, taking advantage of deteriorating security in Somalia and Yemen, and has successfully established command and control bases in the two countries. They added that Qaeda operatives in Somalia have in recent weeks captured advanced weapons from government forces and transferred them to their counterparts in Yemen.<br/><br/>