Posted on 08/09/2006 10:17:04 PM PDT by gary_b_UK
A major terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight has been disrupted by police, Scotland Yard says.
It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled on board aircraft in hand luggage.
During the night, police arrested a number of people in London after a counter-terrorist operation they said had lasted several months.
Police believe the attacks would have been particularly targeted at flights from the UK to the US.
The Department for Transport said security at all UK airports has been increased.
Passengers on all flights will not be allowed to take any hand luggage on to any flights in the UK.
Only the barest essentials - including passports and wallets - will be allowed to be carried on board in transparent plastic bags.
Saying it may have been 8 or 9 months in the planning
The perps were described as British born individuals of Pakistani descent per Fox News.
Is Manville near Hoboken? Isn't Hoboken the center of activity for terrorists in NJ?
If they thought they had caught all the terrorists, they would not say that a threat was imminent. This is a CYA in case they did not get them all. I would not fly across the pond for a few days. Work be damned.
That's correct.
Listening to Fox News.com
20 arrests so far and 20 planes possibly may have been involved.
Live interview now.
I don't know, by 6 or 7 tomorrow morning the mediots will probably have received their talking points and will be reporting only that the plot was stopped "in the planning stages" and the perps were "simple street thugs, unable to tie their shoes, much less actually carry out a successful attack," and that their mothers and mullahs have already explained that they couldn't possibly be involved in any terrorist action since they are "good and helpful boys."
Thanks for the link.
*ping*
PING!!!!!!!!!!
" "Asian" in PC Brit-speak usually means Pakistanis."
I'm not sure that it is 'PC', more a hang over from Colonialism when we actually still owned most of 'Asia'.
We tend to use 'Asian' for anyone who looks like they come from the Indian sub-continent (e.g. Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi's, Sri Lankans). Whereas for the types of people you would call Asians (Chinese, Thais, Japanese etc) we call them a very unPC 'Orientals'.
The alert level has been raised to the top level in the UK.
I love your tag line....and yes, I thought about that....but this seems PRETTY BIG, and will be hard to clamp down the press on.....thinking maybe I should start sending email alerts to friends and relatives.....LOL....so they wake up to REAL NEWS in the morning.
Mr. del does. Sorry, but he is already sleeping. It is what I need to be doing too.
These are the British threat levels:
critical - an attack is expected imminently
severe - an attack is highly likely
substantial - an attack is a strong possibility
moderate - an attack is possible but not likely
low - an attack is unlikely
British police say foil plot to bomb aircraft (18 arrested,, so far)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1680965/posts
Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 8/9/06 | Adrian Croft
Posted on 08/09/2006 11:18:30 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Thursday they have thwarted a plot to blow up aircraft in mid-flight between Britain and the United States, arresting a number of people in the London area.
Britain's security service MI5 raised the threat level to the country to "critical" from "severe," meaning an attack is expected imminently.
News of the arrests and heightened security threat came amid high international tension over Israel's war against Hizbollah in Lebanon.
Police said the aim of the plot was to detonate bombs smuggled on board aircraft in hand luggage.
"A major terrorist plot to allegedly blow up aircraft in mid-flight has been disrupted in a joint, pre-planned, intelligence-led operation by the Metropolitan Police anti-terrorist branch and security services," a London police spokesman said.
He said police believed the intention was particularly to target flights from Britain to the United States.
The BBC said about 18 people were arrested.
The police spokesman could not confirm the figure, saying only that an unspecified number of people had been detained in London during the night. The operation was the culmination of a major covert counter-terrorist operation lasting several months, he added.
Following the arrests, security at all British airports was increased and additional security measures put in place for all flights.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has come under strong criticism at home and abroad for following the U.S. lead and refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas.
The security alert comes 13 months after four Islamist suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's transport network on July 7 last year.
The Home Office Web Site showed the threat rating had been raised to "critical" from "severe" earlier on Thursday. Britain has a five level rating for security threats, ranging from low to critical, which is the highest level.
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