"Plot involved employee with Heathrow all-area access pass"

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Plane Plot Involved 'Explosive Cocktail,' Official Says
Cable News Network (CNN)

 
Terrorists were in the "final stages" of a plot to simultaneously blow up as
many as 10 jets leaving Britain for the U.S., sending the planes and
thousands of passengers into the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Homeland Security
Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday. 

British and Pakistani authorities teamed up to thwart the attacks, and 24
men were arrested in overnight raids in Britain, authorities said. 

Two of the suspects recently traveled to Pakistan and later received money
wired from there, senior U.S. government sources said. 

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. 

The suspected terrorists had been under surveillance in Britain since last
December, Channel 4 reported.

A senior congressional source said it is believed the plotters planned to
mix a British sports drink with a gel-like substance to make a potent
explosive that could be ignited with an MP3 player or cell phone. 

The sports drink could be combined with a peroxide-based paste to form a
potent "explosive cocktail," if properly done, said a U.S. counterterrorism
official. 

"There are strong reasons to believe the materials in a beverage like that
could have been part of the formula," the official said.

As many as 50 people were involved in the plot, an internal Department of
Homeland Security document said, and raids continued in Britain late
Wednesday.

Information gathered after recent arrests in Pakistan convinced British
investigators they had to act urgently to stop the plot, sources said. 

Pakistani authorities also made arrests in coordination with Britain, said a
spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. He did not say how many
arrests were made. 

Two of the suspects left "martyrdom tapes," according to sources familiar
with the details of the British investigation.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the plans were
"suggestive of an al Qaeda plot," and President Bush said the arrests are a
"stark reminder" that the U.S. is "at war with Islamic fascists." 

Bush thanked British Prime Minister Tony Blair for "busting this plot." 

Plot felt worldwide

Authorities immediately banned all passengers headed to or departing from
U.S. airports from carrying any liquid in their carry-ons. The massive lines
that resulted at security checkpoints made air travel chaotic worldwide as
flights were delayed or canceled. 

The effects of the plot rippled across the globe Thursday.

The U.S. raised the terror threat level to "severe," or red, for all flights
leaving Britain for the United States. Britain raised its alert level to
"critical." 

Continental, Delta, Northwest and United Airlines advised passengers to
arrive three hours before takeoff for domestic and international flights,
according to the airlines' Web sites. American Airlines advised passengers
to allow "extra time." 

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ordered the National Guard to Boston's Logan
Airport, and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the National
Guard to airports in his state. 

Besides banning liquids, British police are also banning passengers from
carrying electronic key fobs, which have the potential to trigger bombs. 

A U.S. administration official said the plot targeted Continental, United,
British Airways and American Airlines flights to New York, Washington and
California.

Indications are that at least 21 of those arrested are British citizens and
some were of Pakistani ethnicity, a senior U.S. intelligence official said. 

In a sign of the heightened security, Chertoff said the U.S. was dispatching
extra air marshals to Britain. 

'Mass murder on an unimaginable scale'

Chertoff said the plotters were "getting close to the execution phase."

"There were very concrete steps under way to execute all elements of the
plan," he said.

The plot was "intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale," London's
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said. 

Chertoff said the plan was reminiscent of a plot by September 11 coordinator
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who in 1995 had envisioned detonating bombs on 11
airlines possibly traveling over the Pacific Ocean.

The plot was "as sophisticated as any we have seen in recent years as far as
terrorism is concerned," Chertoff said. 

The nation's overall threat level has not changed, but the threat level has
been raised to "high," or orange, for all commercial flights operating in or
coming to the United States, the DHS said.

Thursday was the first time the DHS has raised the threat level for a
specific group of flights.

New security restrictions

"Due to the nature of the threat revealed by this investigation, we are
prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from
being carried on the airplane," a DHS statement said.

Increased security means airline passengers around the country should show
up at least two hours early for all flights, an official with the
Transportation Security Administration said. 

British and U.S. security agencies quickly moved to impose strict limits on
carry-on items in the wake of Thursday's arrests, causing extended delays at
airport security checkpoints. 

The British Airports Authority said no hand luggage would be allowed onto
planes leaving British airports until further notice. 

British Airways canceled all short-haul flights in or out of Heathrow
Airport for Thursday, and delays were stacking flights up at airports across
Europe.

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