Right now the UK is on very high alert. Security is at its maximum and Heathrow is closed to all new flights. On those flights that are now leaving the UK, passengers are neither allowed to have any hand luggage nor carry any fluids on board.
According to the BBC:
A plot to blow up planes in flight from the UK to the US and commit “mass murder on an unimaginable scale” has been disrupted, Scotland Yard has said. It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled in hand luggage on to as many as 10 aircraft. Police were searching premises with 21 people in custody after arrests in the London area and West Midlands. [Link]
At this point we know very little, and the ” War on Terror” has gone on long enough that I personally will withhold judgement until there is more evidence. I cannot find any news about who the detained suspects are, but sadly the odds are that there might be a very straightforward brown angle to this story.
Update 1:
What little we know about the plot indicates that it is a home grown conspiracy, like 7-7, involving British Asians [thanks AMfD]:
According to BBC sources the “principal characters” suspected of being involved in the plot were British-born. There are also understood to be links to Pakistan. [Link]
The mechanism apparently involved multiple liquids or gels that were inert separately but were explosive in combination. These would not have been detected given current mechanisms.
Update 2:
At this point, we still know very little about who was involved and exactly what they were planning to do. Here are some of the newer reports concerning the alleged plot.
The authorities claim that they had been investigating the conspiracy for a year before they acted:
The secret investigation into the plot has already lasted a year. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, the Met’s head of anti-terrorism, said that intensive surveillance had been carried out of the meetings, movements, travel, spending and the aspirations of a large group of people, both in Britain and abroad. [Link]
“Sources” claim that the Pakistani government was working with the British in the investigation:
Pakistani intelligence agencies helped the British authorities foil the terror plot to blow up aircraft travelling between Britain and America, highly placed sources in Pakistan said today. The agencies have been working closely with British anti-terror police in monitoring the activities of the suspected terrorists for some time, many of whom have links with Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups, The Times has learnt. [Link]
We are still awaiting confirmation concerning who was involved. They are believed to be all British citizens, many of whom are of Pakistani origin, but this has not been confirmed by the authorities:
Mr Reid [the home secretary] would not comment on claims that the detainees were British-born Muslims of Pakistani descent… [he also] refused to be drawn on whether the apprehended individuals suspected of terrorist activities were foreign or “home-grown”. [Link]
Initial reports based on one of the raids suggest that North Africans may also have been involved:
[a neighbor]… said he believed two north African men had been living in the flat for about a month. He said: “I saw a couple of north African-looking men about three weeks ago. They were in their mid 30s. They were dressed quite normally in T-shirts and trousers. “I haven’t seen them in the last couple of weeks. There is not often anyone there at that house.” [Link]
Nor do we know for sure how many planed were targeted. Some reports say up to ten, while other reports say up to twelve:
Officials also declined to confirm the number of flights believed to have been targets – sources said up to 10 – and the home secretary would only say the alleged intention was to carry out a “wave” of attacks. [Link]
In sum, we know very little for sure at this point.
Update 3:
The US claims that the plot was days away from being executed and that most of the plotters were of Pakistani decent. However, this is still not official confirmation (I have no trouble believing it, I am simply noting that there is a difference between official and unofficial confirmation, the latter has been given several times already):
According to a U.S. intelligence official, the plotters were “days away” from going through with their plan. Searches last night turned up airline schedule information in their possession, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. All of those arrested were British citizens, and most appeared to be of Pakistani descent, the official said. [Link]
Update 4 [Thanks Jai]:
Five suspects are still being sought, more information concering the possible identity of the conspirators:
Five of the suspected London terrorists are still at large and are being urgently hunted, according to U.S. sources who have been briefed on the airplane bombing plot. Officials tell ABC News 24 people now have been taken into custody. Twenty-two are believed to be of Pakistani descent. One is Bangladeshi, and another is of Iranian descent, according to the officials. [Link]
Pakistan officially confirms its involvement in foiling the plot:
A senior Pakistani security official told the AFP news agency that Pakistani intelligence agencies helped British authorities foil the plot. Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said: “Pakistan played a very important role in uncovering and breaking this international terrorist network. “There were some arrests in Pakistan which were co-ordinated with arrests in the UK…” [Link]
Update 5:
ABC news claims it has the names of three of the suspects, and links them to recent travels to Pakistan:
Three of the alleged ringleaders of the foiled airplane bomb plot have been identified by Western intelligence agencies involved in unraveling the plot. Two of them are believed to have recently traveled to Pakistan and were later in receipt of money wired to them from Pakistan, reportedly to purchase tickets for the suicide bombers.
Sources identify the three, who are now in custody, as:
- Rashid Rauf
- Mohammed al-Ghandra
- Ahmed al Khan. [Link]
Update 6 [Thanks Vikram and RC]:
More information on exactly how far along the plot was, and the presence of an inside man:
An undercover British agent infiltrated the group, giving the authorities intelligence on the alleged plan, several U.S. government officials said. The men had not bought plane tickets, the officials said, but they were in the process of perusing the Internet to find flights to various cities that had similar departure times…
Among those arrested were a Muslim charity worker and a Heathrow Airport employee with an all-area access pass, according to Britain’s Channel 4.
The suspects were planning to stage a test run within a couple of days, said a U.S. intelligence official. [Link]
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