A terror plot to explode passenger planes in the US using liquid bombs has been thwarted by British authorities. Airports throughout the UK are in chaos as many flights have been delayed.
'Terrorists planned to strike within 48 hours'
10th August 2006
Thousands of passengers are stranded at Britain's airports
A thwarted plot to "commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale" by destroying passenger jets in mid-air flying from Britain could have been carried out in the next couple of days.
Security sources who foiled the deadly plan said today that the threat was immiment.
Anti-terror police arrested 21 people in London, the Thames Valley and Birmingham last night as stringent new security measures were imposed on all UK airports. West Midlands Police confirmed that two men had been arrested in Birmingham under the Terrorism Act.
According to US counter terrorism officials, the targets were United, American, Continental Airlines flights leaving UK airports to the US.
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the suspects "appear to be of Pakistani origin."
The news caused chaos at the UK's airports. A ban on hand luggage along with other checks and precautions led to huge delays. Scores of flights were also cancelled and massive queues built up.
British Airways cancelled all flights between Heathrow airport and points in Britain, Europe and Libya for the whole day.
This afternoon, Al Jazeera TV station reported that a plot to hijack a Qatar Airways jet had also been foiled.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson told reporters at New Scotland Yard that the plot was designed to cause "untold death and destruction".
He added: "This was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale."
Searches were on-going at a number of addresses, he added.
Home Secretary John Reid said today that police were confident that the "main players" in the alleged airliner bomb plot had been "accounted for".
He said the potential loss of life in the alleged terror plot would have been on "unprecedented scale."
He told a news conference that the police operation was complex and ongoing, and that the decision to act overnight had been taken with the full knowledge of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
"The police, working with the Security Service, MI5, have carried out a major counter-terror operation overnight to disrupt an alleged plot to bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions.
"Had this plot been carried out the loss of life to innocent civilians would have been on an unprecedented scale."
Mr Reid added: "While the police are confident the main players have been accounted for, neither they or the Government are in any way complacent."
Sources indicated that the majority if not all of those arrested were British.
A police source said the plot had involved a 'liquid chemical'.
Security at all UK airports was increased today and the country was put on high alert. Shortly afterwards, the US government raised its threat level to the highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States.
Passengers faced massive delays as they arrived to check in this morning. They were warned that they could not take any hand luggage on board flights.
British Airways said some flights would be cancelled, but did not specify which.
Heathrow airport operator BAA asked that all in-bound services not already in the air be suspended, and that most European flights be cancelled.
Restrictions
Specific restrictions on liquids prompted speculation that the terrorists were planning to smuggle liquid explosive devices on board.
If it had been successful, the terror plot would have been the first 'spectacular' since last year's July 7 attacks on London, which killed 52 people.
If a large number of aircraft had been involved, it could have rivalled the death and destruction of the September 11 attacks on the US.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "It is believed that the aim was to detonate explosive devices smuggled on board the aircraft in hand luggage.
"It is believed that the attacks would have been particularly targeted at flights from the UK to the USA."
It is believed the covert investigation has been going on for several months and it is understood that officers made the arrests overnight not because they feared an attack was likely to happen today but for other intelligence reasons which meant they had to act quickly.
A Department of Transport spokesman said: "All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing UK airports."
Passengers were told they could take a few items such as medicines and nappies on board in a clear plastic bag.
Searched
All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be X-ray screened.
Former Met Commissioner Lord Stevens said such drastic steps would not have been taken unless there was an "absolute need".
"You know there is going to be a fair amount of disruption and chaos and that is balanced against trying to keep things as normal as possible.
"But they will not have done anything unless there was an absolute need for it."
Cancelling flights was "always a possibility", he said, but it was important not to allow terrorists to succeed in their aim of disrupting everyday life.
Sources said terrorists may have been planning to attack up to 10 aircraft, but there was no official confirmation of this from Scotland Yard.
Only yesterday Mr Reid warned that Britain was facing its most sustained period of serious threat since the end of the Second World War.
In a high-profile speech on security, he warned that the security services and police alone could not guarantee 100 per cent success in combating terrorism.
Only a common effort from all sections of society could ensure the security of our communities, he said.
He said Britain was facing a new breed of "unconstrained" terrorist who aimed to destroy the country's values and had access to "means of mass destruction".
There were claims yesterday that the police and MI5 had foiled at least 13 suspected terrorist plots in Britain in the last six years.
It was reported that MI5 had switched more resources to counter terrorism and that 87 per cent of its budget was now spent on combating the threat.
dailymail.co.uk
***************************************************************
Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest airport, descended into chaos today as flights were cancelled following the foiling of a terrorist attack. Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at the airport as a result.
-------------------------
Police said they thwarted a major plot to destroy up to ten passenger jets in mid-air.
© PA
------------------------
A young passenger at Heathrow sits patiently on luggage as the airport fills up with passengers unable to board flights.
© Reuters
--------------------------
Police, armed with guns, patrol inside and outside the stricken airport.
© Reuters
---------------------------
A ban on hand luggage along with other checks and precautions added to the chaos at Heathrow.
© Reuters
-------------------------
British Airways said it had cancelled all its short-haul UK and European inbound and outbound flights to and from Heathrow until 3pm today.
© EPA
-------------------------
Many passengers were arriving at Heathrow unaware of the substantial extra security and the delays that it would cause them.
© PA
-------------------------
Bemused travellers dressed in holiday gear milled around Terminal One, where airport authorities say the delays are longest, unsure as to how long they would have to wait until they could start their journey.
© Reuters
---------------------------
Six-year-old Eden McEwan was due to be travelling with her grandparents from Heathrow to America today. Due to the ban on hand luggage, she had to hand her teddy bear in.
---------------------------
Hundreds of police officers kept watch as more flights were cancelled.
-----------------------------
Police sniffer dogs weaved their way through the crowds of stranded passengers.
© PA
-------------------------------
In all, BA cancelled 183 flights and urged its customers not to travel today unless it is absolutely necessary.
© Getty Images
--------------------------------
dailymail.co.uk
'Terrorists planned to strike within 48 hours'
10th August 2006
Thousands of passengers are stranded at Britain's airports
A thwarted plot to "commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale" by destroying passenger jets in mid-air flying from Britain could have been carried out in the next couple of days.
Security sources who foiled the deadly plan said today that the threat was immiment.
Anti-terror police arrested 21 people in London, the Thames Valley and Birmingham last night as stringent new security measures were imposed on all UK airports. West Midlands Police confirmed that two men had been arrested in Birmingham under the Terrorism Act.
According to US counter terrorism officials, the targets were United, American, Continental Airlines flights leaving UK airports to the US.
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the suspects "appear to be of Pakistani origin."
The news caused chaos at the UK's airports. A ban on hand luggage along with other checks and precautions led to huge delays. Scores of flights were also cancelled and massive queues built up.
British Airways cancelled all flights between Heathrow airport and points in Britain, Europe and Libya for the whole day.
This afternoon, Al Jazeera TV station reported that a plot to hijack a Qatar Airways jet had also been foiled.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson told reporters at New Scotland Yard that the plot was designed to cause "untold death and destruction".
He added: "This was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale."
Searches were on-going at a number of addresses, he added.
Home Secretary John Reid said today that police were confident that the "main players" in the alleged airliner bomb plot had been "accounted for".
He said the potential loss of life in the alleged terror plot would have been on "unprecedented scale."
He told a news conference that the police operation was complex and ongoing, and that the decision to act overnight had been taken with the full knowledge of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
"The police, working with the Security Service, MI5, have carried out a major counter-terror operation overnight to disrupt an alleged plot to bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions.
"Had this plot been carried out the loss of life to innocent civilians would have been on an unprecedented scale."
Mr Reid added: "While the police are confident the main players have been accounted for, neither they or the Government are in any way complacent."
Sources indicated that the majority if not all of those arrested were British.
A police source said the plot had involved a 'liquid chemical'.
Security at all UK airports was increased today and the country was put on high alert. Shortly afterwards, the US government raised its threat level to the highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States.
Passengers faced massive delays as they arrived to check in this morning. They were warned that they could not take any hand luggage on board flights.
British Airways said some flights would be cancelled, but did not specify which.
Heathrow airport operator BAA asked that all in-bound services not already in the air be suspended, and that most European flights be cancelled.
Restrictions
Specific restrictions on liquids prompted speculation that the terrorists were planning to smuggle liquid explosive devices on board.
If it had been successful, the terror plot would have been the first 'spectacular' since last year's July 7 attacks on London, which killed 52 people.
If a large number of aircraft had been involved, it could have rivalled the death and destruction of the September 11 attacks on the US.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "It is believed that the aim was to detonate explosive devices smuggled on board the aircraft in hand luggage.
"It is believed that the attacks would have been particularly targeted at flights from the UK to the USA."
It is believed the covert investigation has been going on for several months and it is understood that officers made the arrests overnight not because they feared an attack was likely to happen today but for other intelligence reasons which meant they had to act quickly.
A Department of Transport spokesman said: "All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing UK airports."
Passengers were told they could take a few items such as medicines and nappies on board in a clear plastic bag.
Searched
All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be X-ray screened.
Former Met Commissioner Lord Stevens said such drastic steps would not have been taken unless there was an "absolute need".
"You know there is going to be a fair amount of disruption and chaos and that is balanced against trying to keep things as normal as possible.
"But they will not have done anything unless there was an absolute need for it."
Cancelling flights was "always a possibility", he said, but it was important not to allow terrorists to succeed in their aim of disrupting everyday life.
Sources said terrorists may have been planning to attack up to 10 aircraft, but there was no official confirmation of this from Scotland Yard.
Only yesterday Mr Reid warned that Britain was facing its most sustained period of serious threat since the end of the Second World War.
In a high-profile speech on security, he warned that the security services and police alone could not guarantee 100 per cent success in combating terrorism.
Only a common effort from all sections of society could ensure the security of our communities, he said.
He said Britain was facing a new breed of "unconstrained" terrorist who aimed to destroy the country's values and had access to "means of mass destruction".
There were claims yesterday that the police and MI5 had foiled at least 13 suspected terrorist plots in Britain in the last six years.
It was reported that MI5 had switched more resources to counter terrorism and that 87 per cent of its budget was now spent on combating the threat.
dailymail.co.uk
***************************************************************
Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest airport, descended into chaos today as flights were cancelled following the foiling of a terrorist attack. Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at the airport as a result.
-------------------------
Police said they thwarted a major plot to destroy up to ten passenger jets in mid-air.
© PA
------------------------
A young passenger at Heathrow sits patiently on luggage as the airport fills up with passengers unable to board flights.
© Reuters
--------------------------
Police, armed with guns, patrol inside and outside the stricken airport.
© Reuters
---------------------------
A ban on hand luggage along with other checks and precautions added to the chaos at Heathrow.
© Reuters
-------------------------
British Airways said it had cancelled all its short-haul UK and European inbound and outbound flights to and from Heathrow until 3pm today.
© EPA
-------------------------
Many passengers were arriving at Heathrow unaware of the substantial extra security and the delays that it would cause them.
© PA
-------------------------
Bemused travellers dressed in holiday gear milled around Terminal One, where airport authorities say the delays are longest, unsure as to how long they would have to wait until they could start their journey.
© Reuters
---------------------------
Six-year-old Eden McEwan was due to be travelling with her grandparents from Heathrow to America today. Due to the ban on hand luggage, she had to hand her teddy bear in.
---------------------------
Hundreds of police officers kept watch as more flights were cancelled.
-----------------------------
Police sniffer dogs weaved their way through the crowds of stranded passengers.
© PA
-------------------------------
In all, BA cancelled 183 flights and urged its customers not to travel today unless it is absolutely necessary.
© Getty Images
--------------------------------
dailymail.co.uk
