British say plot involved 10 airliners
Pastor Dale Morgan
British say plot involved 10 airliners *
By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press Writer
Thursday, August 10, 2006 3:29 p.m. ET
LONDON (AP) -- British authorities said Thursday they thwarted a
terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S.
using explosives smuggled in hand luggage, averting what police
described as "mass murder on an unimaginable scale."
Police arrested 24 people, saying they were confident they captured the
main suspects in what U.S. officials said was a plot in its final phases
that had all the earmarks of an al-Qaida operation. President Bush
called it a "stark reminder" of the continued threat to the United
States from extremist Muslims.
Britain disclosed no details about the plot or those arrested, although
one police official indicated the people in custody were British
residents. A French official in contact with British authorities
described the arrested as originating from predominantly Muslim Pakistan.
Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain _ suggesting a
terrorist attack might be imminent _ and banned carry-on luggage on all
flights. Huge crowds backed up at security barriers at London's Heathrow
airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form
of liquid outside of baby formula.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the terrorists
planned to use liquid explosives disguised as beverages and other common
products and set them off with detonators disguised as electronic devices.
An American law enforcement official who was briefed on the
investigation said it appeared the liquid to be used was a
"peroxide-based solution" to be detonated by an electronic device that
was not specified, but could be anything from a disposable camera to a
portable digital music player. The official spoke on condition of
anonymity because British authorities had asked that no information be
released.
The extreme measures at a major international aviation hub sent ripples
throughout the world. Heathrow was closed to most flights from Europe,
and British Airways canceled all its flights between the airport and
points in Britain, Europe and Libya. Numerous flights from U.S. cities
to Britain were canceled.
Washington raised its threat alert to its highest level for commercial
flights from Britain to the United States amid fears the plot had not
been completely crushed. The alert for all flights coming or going from
the United States was also raised slightly.
Two U.S. counterterrorism officials said the terrorists had targeted
United, American and Continental airlines. They spoke on condition of
anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
A U.S. intelligence official said the plotters had hoped to target
flights to major airports in New York, Washington and California. A
counterterrorism official said the plot involved 10 flights.
British authorities said 24 people were arrested in London, its suburbs
and Birmingham following a lengthy investigation, including the alleged
"main players" in the plot. Searches continued in a number of locations,
and police cordoned off streets in several locations.
Bush said during a visit to Green Bay, Wis., that the foiled plot was a
"stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists."
Despite increased security since Sept. 11, he warned, "It is a mistake
to believe there is no threat to the United States of America."
ABC News quoted sources as saying Western intelligence agencies had
identified three of the alleged ringleaders. It said two were believed
to have traveled recently to Pakistan and later had money wired to them
from Pakistan, purportedly to purchase airline tickets for suicide bombers.
While British officials declined to publicly identify the 24 suspects,
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said in Paris they "appear to
be of Pakistani origin." He did not give a source for his description,
but said French officials had been in close contact with British
authorities.
Pakistan's government said later its intelligence agents helped Britain
crack the plot and had arrested some suspects.
"Pakistan played a very important role in uncovering and breaking this
international terrorist network," Foreign Ministry spokesman Tasnim
Aslam said, but she declined to give details.
The suspects arrested in Britain were "homegrown," though it was not
immediately clear if they were all British citizens, said a British
police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the case. Police were working closely with the South
Asian community, the official said.
The suicide bombing assault on London subway trains and a bus on July 7,
2005, was carried out by Muslim extremists who grew up in Britain.
The police official said the plotters intended to simultaneously target
multiple planes bound for the United States.
"We think this was an extraordinarily serious plot and we are confident
that we've prevented an attempt to commit mass murder on an unimaginable
scale," Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson said.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, vacationing in the Caribbean, briefed Bush on
the situation Wednesday. Blair issued a statement praising the
cooperation between the two countries, saying it "underlines the threat
we face and our determination to counter it."
White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush also had been briefed by his
aides while at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he has been on vacation.
"We do believe the plot involved flights from the U.K. to the U.S. and
was a direct threat to the United States," Snow said.
While Snow called the plot a serious threat, he assured Americans that
"it is safe to travel."
Chertoff, the homeland security chief, said the plot had the hallmarks
of an operation planned by al-Qaida, the terrorist group behind the
Sept. 11 attack on the United States.
"It was sophisticated, it had a lot of members and it was international
in scope. It was in some respects suggestive of an al-Qaida plot,"
Chertoff said, but he cautioned it was too early in the investigation to
reach any conclusions.
It is the first time the red alert level in the Homeland Security
warning system has been invoked, although there have been brief periods
in the past when the orange level was applied. Homeland Security defines
the red alert as designating a "severe risk of terrorist attacks."
"We believe that these arrests (in London) have significantly disrupted
the threat, but we cannot be sure that the threat has been entirely
eliminated or the plot completely thwarted," Chertoff said.
He added, however, there was no indication of current plots within the
United States.
Chertoff said the plotters were in the final stages of planning. "We
were really getting quite close to the execution phase," he said, adding
that it was unclear if the plot was linked to the upcoming fifth
anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
A senior U.S. counterterrorism official said authorities believe dozens
of people _ possibly as many as 50 _ were involved in the plot. The
official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of
the situation.
The plan involved airline passengers hiding masked explosives in
carry-on luggage, the official said. "They were not yet sitting on an
airplane," but were very close to traveling, the official said, calling
the plot "the real deal."
Passengers in Britain faced delays as tighter security was hastily
enforced at the country's airports and additional measures were put in
place for all flights. Laptop computers, mobile phones, iPods, and
remote controls were among the items banned from being carried on board.
Liquids, such as hair care products, were also barred on flights in both
Britain and the U.S.
In the mid-1990s, officials foiled a plan by terrorist mastermind Ramzi
Youssef to blow up 12 Western jetliners simultaneously over the Pacific.
The alleged plot involved improvised bombs using liquid hidden in
contact lens solution containers.
Huge lines formed at ticket counters and behind security barriers at
Heathrow and other airports in Britain.
Ed Lappen, 55, a businessman from Boston, who was traveling with his
wife and daughter to Russia, found himself unable to travel further.
"We're safe, we're OK," he said at Heathrow. "Now my daughter is going
to get a shopping trip in London."
Hannah Pillinger, 24, seemed less concerned by the announcement. "Eight
hours without an iPod, that's the most inconvenient thing," she said,
waiting at the Manchester airport.
Most European carriers canceled flights to Heathrow because of the
massive delays created after authorities enforced strict new regulations
banning most hand baggage.
Tony Douglas, Heathrow's managing director, said the airport hoped to
resume normal operations Friday, but passengers would still face delays
and a ban on cabin baggage "for the foreseeable future."
Security also was stepped up at train stations serving airports across
Britain, said British Transport Police spokeswoman Jan O'Neill. At
London's Victoria Station, police patrolled platforms with bomb-sniffing
dogs as passengers boarded trains carrying clear plastic bags.
Margaret Gavin, 67, waiting to board a train, said she wasn't scared.
"Why should I change my life because some idiots want to blow something
up?" she said.
___
Associated Press writers Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington, Matt Moore in
Frankfurt, Germany, and Pat Milton in New York contributed to this report.