MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK foils aircraft bomb plot

Plotters allegedly planned to blow up 10 US-bound airliners over the Atlantic. Twenty-four UK-citizens arrested, but ringleader said to be still at large.

Twenty-four people were arrested in London and various parts of Britain. Many, if not all of the suspects, were reportedly British-born Muslims, some of Pakistani descent. British police said they were confident the plot had been disrupted, but two US television networks reported that some suspects are still at large, including the ringleader.

As the story unfolded early yesterday, law enforcement officials heightened security at airports across the globe, causing flight delays and long lines at security checkpoints. British authorities banned almost all hand luggage, including items such as books and newspapers. Air travellers in the United States were prohibited from carrying containers of liquid or gels in their carry-on bags.

Law enforcement officials suspect that the plot called for explosives to be carried aboard flights disguised in beverage containers, shampoo bottles or other packaging, with the contents combined onboard into bombs that could be detonated with a simple electronic device like a car key remote fob or a portable music player.

Plotters had hoped to stage a dry run within two days, US intelligence officials said. The actual attack would have followed within days.

One official said the suicide attackers planned to use a peroxide-based solution that could ignite when sparked by a camera flash or another electronic device.

The targets included United, American and Continental Airlines flights from Britain to major US destinations of New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, officials said. The test run was designed to see whether the plotters would be able to smuggle the needed materials aboard the planes, these officials said.

Passengers in Britain and the United States were banned from carrying any liquids into the cabin save medicine and baby formula and that had to be tasted by an adult in front of security officers.

At airports across the United States, airline passengers waited for hours in security lines slowed by emergency restrictions on what could be carried aboard flights packed with summer vacation travellers.

Toothpaste, shaving cream, shampoo and fine wine were tossed in trash bins or jammed into checked luggage, as passengers learned that liquids and gels could no longer be packed into carry-on bags.

??We are seeing a lot of interesting items being discarded,'' Michael McCarron, a spokesman for the San Francisco airport told the Associated Press. ??Chanel No. 5, gallons and gallons of water, and some very fine Napa Valley wine.''

The era of flying only with carry-on luggage may have abruptly ended.

??That's pretty much it,'' said Dan Meehan of Richmond, Va., as he gave his entire shaving kit ? including razor, shaving cream, deodorant, toothpaste, Brooks Brothers cologne and after-shave lotion ? to a security official at Dulles. ??I'm taking my toothbrush.''

In Britain, music players, laptops and key chains with electronic locking systems were also prohibited.

In fact, carry-on baggage was almost completely ruled out, except for a small list of permitted essential items. Those had to be carried in a clear plastic bag ? pockets were to be empty ? and the list included only such things as travel documents, glasses (but no cases) and prescription medicines necessary for the flight. Tissues and tampons had to be out of their boxes.

Authorities said they expected travel disruptions to last several days, at least.

Michael Jackson, deputy secretary for US Homeland Security, said the planned attack was ??very near execution,'' although ??not on the cusp.''

Britain raised its terrorist threat level from ??critical'' to ??severe,'' meaning an attack is expected imminently. The United States increased its threat level for flights from Britain to red, the highest level of alert, for the first time ever.

US President George W. Bush said the foiled plot was a ??stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists. It is a mistake to believe that there is no threat to the United States of America.''

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chernoff said the scheme was ??in some respects suggestive of an al Qaeda plot.''

Last month, al Qaeda called on Muslims to fight those who backed Israel's attacks on Lebanon and warned of attacks unless US and British forces pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The alleged attack, aimed as it was at Britain and the United States, the staunchest of allies in Iraq, bore similarities to various recent terrorist attacks that have been motivated by Islamic radicalism.

It resembled the September 11 attacks, which were carried out by al Qaeda, in its complexity and apparent international scope. Paul Stephenson, London's deputy police commissioner, said the plot had ??global dimensions'' and would have resulted in ??mass murder on an unimaginable scale.''

The newest plot also resembled last year's bombings of the London transport system, which brought home Europe's danger from home-grown Islamic militants.

ABC News quoted unnamed intelligence sources as saying two ringleaders of the most recent plot had travelled recently to Pakistan, and had later had money wired from Pakistan to themselves so they could buy airline tickets.

Pakistani authorities said its intelligence agents helped foil the plot.

??Pakistan played a very important role in uncovering and breaking this international terrorist network,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Tasnim Aslam told the reporters.

The newest plot was similar, too, to the attempted attack in December 2001, aboard a transatlantic American Airlines flight by Richard Reid, who smuggled explosives into the cabin in his shoe.

And it resembled an al Qaeda plot to blow up several airliners over the Pacific 12 years ago, a plot also uncovered by British authorities. That plan involved smuggling liquid on to planes in contact lens solution containers. (BAH)