UK/US Airplane Terror Plot Thwarted--Threat Level elevated to RED

[mk5]

'Airlines terror plot' disrupted

All airports have been put under the restrictions


Reid statement
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 are searching premises after 21 people were arrested. Home Secretary John Reid said they believed the "main players" were accounted for.

High security is causing delays at all UK airports.

The threat level to the UK has been raised by MI5 to critical after the arrests in London, High Wycombe and Birmingham.

Critical threat level - the highest - means "an attack is expected imminently and indicates an extremely high level of threat to the UK".

Three US airlines are believed to have been targeted.

Mr Reid said had the attack gone ahead it would have caused a loss of life of "unprecedented scale".

He said they were "confident" the main players were in custody, but neither the police nor government are "in any way complacent".

We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson


Flights disruption across UK
At-a-glance: Travel advice

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the plot was thought to have involved a series of "waves" of simultaneous attacks, targeting three planes each time.

He also said the plan "revolved around liquids of some kind".

"Officials say the explosives would have been sophisticated and extremely effective," our correspondent said.

Meanwhile, Heathrow Airport has been closed to all incoming short haul flights with long haul services seriously delayed. Several outbound services have also been cancelled.

The airport is crammed with thousands of passengers, while at Stansted more than 2,000 people are queuing to pass through customs.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said the alleged plotters had intended "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".

HAVE YOUR SAY
This disruption is one of the short term limits on freedom that are needed

Tony Shield, Chorley


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"We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and to commit, quite frankly, mass murder," he said.

"We believe that the terrorists' aim was to smuggle explosives on to aeroplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in flight. We also believe that the intended targets were flights from the United Kingdom to the United States of America."

Police had spoken to a "good number of community leaders to make them aware that a major operation was under way," he added.

Head of the Met's anti-terrorist branch Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said the investigation had had "global dimensions" and had seen an "unprecedented level" of surveillance.

The decision to take action had been taken on Wednesday night, he added.

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.


BBC home affairs correspondent Andy Tighe said police sources had told him they had found "interesting items" which were being examined.

In other major developments:



Houses in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, are evacuted by police

US air marshals are being sent to the UK to provide extra air security

The US Department of Homeland Security increased the threat level applied to US-bound commercial flights originating in the UK to "red" - the first time it has done this for flights coming in from another country

The Home Office confirmed there had been meetings overnight and on Thursday morning of the Cabinet's emergency committee, Cobra, chaired by Home Secretary John Reid, to discuss the terror alert

A spokesman for Number 10 said Tony Blair had briefed US President George Bush on the situation during the night

BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said despite the arrests the threat level had been raised "in case there is some other sub-plot, back-up plot around this that the police aren't aware of".


Total: 21 people arrested
London: 'Majority' of arrests - exact locations not known
Birmingham: Two arrests
High Wycombe: At least one arrest

Prime Minister Tony Blair is on holiday in the Caribbean, but Downing Street said the police operation was undertaken with his full support and he had been "in constant touch".

The Department for Transport set out the details of the security measures at UK airports.


Passengers are not allowed to take any hand luggage on to any flights in the UK, the department said.

Only the barest essentials - including passports and wallets - will be allowed to be carried on board in transparent plastic bags.

"We hope that these measures, which are being kept under review by the government, will need to be in place for a limited period only," the statement said.

[graeme]

Details are still very sketchy but supposedly this has been under investigation for some time. Whether it turns out to be real or not is another thing. The last high profile action here in the UK was when two houses were raided by literally hundreds of police and a young suspect was shot. They were accused of having a bomb factory but nothing was ever found and the men were released after a stay in the hospital.
Not to sound too cynical, i know there are bad people out there, but this has all the hallmarks of another mass media panic to keep in the public's mind the threat they theoretically face. Knowing that the majority of the UK condemns very strongly the recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon and that any British involvement against either Syria or Iran could bring Tony Blair down, they would need to get public backing before they could take any action and scaring the shit out of the public is the best way to do this.
Like I said, details are sketchy and I don't profess to have any answers but the timing ie. before expected military action, seems to be quite suitable for Blair et al.
If there truly was a plot to blow up these planes then obviously I am very thankful that it hasn't happened so far.
I just sometimes wonder who I trust less.

[smithjc]

What a scary f'd up world we live in.

[billy007]

Looks like they (the terrorists) have us right where they want us, too. We don't trust them and we don't trust our leaders anymore, either.

[ZORBA5150]

Looks like they (the terrorists) have us right where they want us, too. We don't trust them and we don't trust our leaders anymore, either.

Speak for yourself. I trust my country and its government in regards to its safekeeping.

[smithjc]

Wish I could say I did but now I'm not so sure.

[graeme]

Wish I could say I did but now I'm not so sure.

That's about where I'm at right now.

Call me a conspiracy nut if you want but there are too many things about the events of the last five or more years that just don't add up. Government activities on the quiet are nothing new but I believe they may have taken an altogether more sinister turn in recent years.
We all want to think that our governments are doing the best they can for us but just a cursory look through history tells us that this is not usually the case. It's just that in a democracy they at least have to put out a semblance of goodwill.
And yes, once again, I do realise that there are terrorists (or freedom fighters...you know the argument) out there. It's just that I wonder how much our own leaders might be tarred with that very same brush.
I have been wondering for a while under what pretext would an assault on Iran or Syria be made justifiable in the eyes of what these leaders thought they might realistically getaway with. When I saw this recent Israel - lebanon thing start, that question was answered. Now I'm just interested how they spin this terror alert, real or manufactured, to gain as much milage as they can from it.
And please don't call me some lefty sandalista because I am nothing remotely like that. The whole left right thing seems pretty obselete anyway when more and more it seems to be corporations and not governments that have the most influence, the biggest of these of course being energy and arms.
(polite) rant over.

[smithjc]

I agree.

Money's a big part of our system, candidates raise a shitload of bucks just to run for office so I guess it's whoever can afford to run and keep up with the other guys as opposed to who has the most experience and judgment/leadership abilities.

btw - My rant is over as well. This is the most I'll ever post about it b/c politics is a whole 'nother issue here.

[Balanced Rock]

Details are still very sketchy but supposedly this has been under investigation for some time. Whether it turns out to be real or not is another thing. The last high profile action here in the UK was when two houses were raided by literally hundreds of police and a young suspect was shot. They were accused of having a bomb factory but nothing was ever found and the men were released after a stay in the hospital.
Not to sound too cynical, i know there are bad people out there, but this has all the hallmarks of another mass media panic to keep in the public's mind the threat they theoretically face. Knowing that the majority of the UK condemns very strongly the recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon and that any British involvement against either Syria or Iran could bring Tony Blair down, they would need to get public backing before they could take any action and scaring the shit out of the public is the best way to do this.
Like I said, details are sketchy and I don't profess to have any answers but the timing ie. before expected military action, seems to be quite suitable for Blair et al.
If there truly was a plot to blow up these planes then obviously I am very thankful that it hasn't happened so far.
I just sometimes wonder who I trust less.

Yeah, that's it. Keep pretending that this shit is all made up and that there is no such thing as a war on terrorism. Oh, and don't forget that 9/11 was staged. Yeah, that's the ticket. And while you're at it, lets blame Israel for defending itself. Yeahhhhh, that's it.

[Dennis]

I wonder what their supposed plan of attack was? I see pics at cnn.com of piles of those travel mouth wash bottles and things like that....I quess the would be terrorist were planning to smuggle something into the planes that way?!?!

Ok...I just found this in an article posted above:

He also said the plan "revolved around liquids of some kind".

"Officials say the explosives would have been sophisticated and extremely effective," our correspondent said.

Hmmmm....

[smithjc]

Yeah, that's it. Keep pretending that this shit is all made up and that there is no such thing as a war on terrorism. Oh, and don't forget that 9/11 was staged. Yeah, that's the ticket. And while you're at it, lets blame Israel for defending itself. Yeahhhhh, that's it.

That's a bit extreme, I don't think that's what he (graeme) meant. It's just difficult to know what to believe anymore.

That's it.

[billy007]

Looks like they (the terrorists) have us right where they want us, too. We don't trust them and we don't trust our leaders anymore, either.

Speak for yourself. I trust my country and its government in regards to its safekeeping.

I'm really not so sure anymore, although I do lean towards the side that I think they are trying to protect us. But you have to admit that there are a lot of people now that don't trust the Bush or Blair administrations, and that leads to a lot of dissent, which if there's enough of it, could lead to us letting our guard down (again).

[JCJanko]

Yeah, that's it. Keep pretending that this shit is all made up and that there is no such thing as a war on terrorism. Oh, and don't forget that 9/11 was staged. Yeah, that's the ticket. And while you're at it, lets blame Israel for defending itself. Yeahhhhh, that's it.

I was going to respond in more detail to this, but I just woke up and am a little too upset to.

I'll just say I'm with you and leave it at that.

[Balanced Rock]

That's a bit extreme, I don't think that's what he (graeme) meant.

Oh really? I suggest you do some research on this guys beliefs, then come back and tell me how wrong i am.

[ziggysmalls]

Well one good thing actually trusting your government is that I can be thankful today. I am glad that their hard work has paid off. I would imagine some people would like to see them fail since its either part of a conspirecy theory or they hate the west.