"UK terror plot included 'baby bottle' bomb"

Monday, August 14, 2006

'Baby bottle' terror plot worries AFP
The Australian Associated Press


Australia's top police officer sees an alleged plan to use a baby in the
foiled British terror bombing plot as a chilling development.

But Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has backed away from tougher
security measures at airports, saying the idea of testing infant's milk
before air travel should be left up to regulators.

Scotland Yard police are questioning a husband and wife who allegedly
planned to hide a liquid bomb in their baby's bottle to bring down an
airliner, News Ltd papers reported.

They are among the 23 suspects arrested over the plot to blow up airliners
headed for the United States in mid-flight.

Mr Keelty expressed dismay at the alleged plan to use a child in a suicide
mission.

"The phenomena of suicide bombings as a new way of taking part in terror
attacks is in itself concerning, but to think or imagine that anybody would
use an innocent child to join them is even more disconcerting," he told the
Nine Network.

"And I think it just goes to show you the sorts of difficulties that we're
now facing in the environment that we're all in."

But Mr Keelty was cautious about the current state of airport security and
brushed aside the question of testing babies' milk.

"That's an issue for the regulatory authorities, for the airline operators,
you know, we've got to think about a lot of people here, a lot of
interests," he said.

"We've got airlines that need to fly, we've got a lot of people employed by
airlines and in the airline industry.

"We need to take advice from the airline operators and also the regulatory
agencies like the Department of Transport and Regional Services."

Mr Keelty said shutting down airports in the wake of the UK plot would hand
victory to the terrorists.

"The important thing here is that we get on with life, that if we shut
everything down, if we make it so hard to travel by air or by any other
means, if we shut our lives down it means that the terrorists have won," he
said.

"What we've got to do is work within a balance, we've got to risk manage it,
we've got to understand where the risks are and deploy resources
appropriately to where those risks are.

"But the reality of life is that this is a new world order and nobody's got
an easy fix solution to this. We're all dealing with it."

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