UK plot resembles 1995 al-Qaida plan

The foiled terrorist plot to blow up as many as 10 U.S. airplanes departing the UK using liquid explosives bears striking resemblance to "Operation Bojinka," the failed al-Qaida-financed attack on airliners in 1995 that became a precursor to 9-11, counterterrorism analysts say.

Operation Bojinka – a plot to bomb more than a dozen airliners over the Pacific Ocean simultaneously – was developed in Manila by Ramzi Yousef, a planner of the 1993 World Trade Center attack, and 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, according to Philippines authorities.

The key to the Bojinka plot was the use of liquid chemical bombs and wristwatch timers that could elude airport security.

In the foiled UK scheme, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said today the terrorists planned to use liquid explosives disguised as beverages and other common products and set them off with detonators disguised as electronic devices.

Security has been raised to the highest level in Britain and the United States in the wake of the UK's announcement it had thwarted a plot that, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials, targeted United, American and Continental airlines. British police arrested 21 people, saying they were confident they captured the main suspects.

Counterterrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann, writing in the Counterterrorism Blog, notes one of the detained men in the Bojinka plot, trained commercial pilot Abdel Hakim Murad, described Yousef's plans in detail: "The purpose was to train those Muslim brothers thereat, on using a Casio watch as a timing device, chemical mixtures to compound bombs, and to share his expertise in eluding detection on an airport's x-ray machine, and eventually smuggling [onboard] this liquid chemical bombs."

Murad said "these Egyptians and Algerians ha[ve] no experience on making these bombs and [do] not know the basics of smuggling liquid bombs through the airport."

Eleven years later, Kohlman comments, "we once again return to the same threat to commercial aviation posed by liquid explosives."

"Only now, it would appear that the fabrication of such high-tech terrorist weapons by al-Qaida operatives inside Western Europe is no longer an insurmountable challenge."

National Review writer Andy McCarthy, writing in The Corner weblog, also sees the striking similarities between Bojinka and the newly revealed plot, pointing out that in its final report, the 9-11 Commission said Yousef and Mohammed in 1994 "acquired chemicals and other materials necessary to construct bombs and timers."

The report said the two terrorists also "cased target flights to Hong Kong and Seoul that would have onward legs to the United States."

During the fall of 1994, the 9-11 report said, "Yousef returned to Manila and successfully tested the digital watch timer he had invented, bombing a movie theater and a Philippine Airlines flight en route to Tokyo."

"The plot unraveled after the Philippine authorities discovered Yousef's bomb-making operation in Manila; but by that time, [Mohammed] was safely back at his government job in Qatar. Yousef attempted to follow through on the cargo carriers plan, but he was arrested in Islamabad by Pakistani authorities on February 7, 1995, after an accomplice turned him in."

Tamar Tesler, another analyst for Counterterrorism Blog, recalled being on a flight from Bangkok in 1995 that was turned back to the terminal as a result of the Bojinka plot. The procedures used by authorities at that time resemble the precautions employed today which are contributing to massive delays at airports worldwide.

In the 1995 incident, Tesler said, the security personnel "took us into a room where they told us to empty our carry-ons and confiscated all liquids. Growing mountains of contact lens solution, shaving cream, hand lotion, perfume, toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant filled the room. Some passengers were strip searched behind screens and individuals traveling with babies were made to taste the baby formula before letting them move on."

Huge backups at airports are being reported today as officials searching for explosives prohibit nearly every form of liquid, with the exception of baby formula.

>>>>The foiled terrorist plot to blow up as many as 10 U.S. airplanes departing the UK using liquid explosives bears striking resemblance to "Operation Bojinka," the failed al-Qaida-financed attack on airliners in 1995 that became a precursor to 9-11, counterterrorism analysts say.

This suggest Hezb'Allah was connected to Operation Bojinka:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/1521072/posts?page=77#77

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/1521072/posts?page=78#78

Excerpt:

Pakistani national in one of the
apartments in Manila. Murad was a
member of an international terrorist
group planning to kill Pope John Paul II
on his scheduled visit to Manila from
January 10–15 for the Celebration of the
World Youth Day. Pieces of evidence
recovered revealed the group’s plan to
bomb U.S commercial airlines plying the
Manila - Hong Kong - Los Angeles. route.
This plot was to be the centerpiece of the
so-called “Oplan Bojinka” which was an
intricate network of international
terrorists using the Philippines as a
venue of their terrorists activities. The
bombing of a Philippine Airlines jet
bound for Japan from Cebu on December
11, 1994 was a test-run to Oplan Bojinka.

(snip)

Next post, same report:

Financing:

* Human trafficking
o Middle East (Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics)
+ Linked with organized crime—Russian Vory
o Cambodia, and Philippines
+ Linked with madrasas in Southeast Asia (children)
+ Linked with organized crime—Yakuza
+ A word about Abu Sayyaf
* Kidnapping and extortion
o Links to Hezb’Allah
o Links to FARC and ELN

Abu Sayyaf, Real sweethearts

http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=204

Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Mothertongue Name:
Abu Sayyaf

Aliases: Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah, Bearer of the Sword

Base of Operation: Philippines

Founding Philosophy: The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was formed in 1991 during the peace process between the Philippine government and the nationalist/separatist terrorist group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Between 1986 and 1996, MNLF engaged in negotiations to end their two-decade terrorist rebellion. Certain MNLF members refused to accept the end of the terrorist movement. Angered by the movement toward a peaceful resolution, these members formed Abu Sayyaf (Arabic for "Bearer of the Sword") as a small but extremely violent terrorist organization.

While the Abu Sayyaf Group remains nominally committed to the formation of a Muslim state in the southern Philippines, the group has recently shifted toward predominantly criminal enterprises. Some intelligence experts have viewed recent ASG bombings as a possible sign that the group is returning to its radical philosophical roots.

Current Goals: The Abu Sayyaf Group remains committed to criminal and terrorist activities. The Philippine government has struggled for over two decades against the terrorist movement that began with MNLF's founding in 1972. The Abu Sayyaf Group is the most violent remnant of that terrorist movement. Spurred on by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States has pledged military aid to the Philippine government for the express purpose of eliminating the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Date Formed: 1991
Strength: Approximately 400 members
Classification:
Nationalist/Separatist, Religious
Financial Sources: Largely self-financed through ransom and extortion; Suspected to receive support from Islamic extremists in the Middle East and South Asia

Key Leaders
Janjalani, Abdulrajik Abubakar
Janjalani, Khadaffy Abubakar

Related Groups
Abdurajak Janjalani Brigade (AJB) • Splinter Group
Jemaah Islamiya (JI) • Ally (Suspected)
Laskar Jihad • Ally
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) • Founding Group
al-Qaeda • Ally

1968 - Present
Incidents (55) Injuries (515) Fatalities (197
Targets:
Tourists 3%
Government 3%
Military 3%
Private Citizens & Property 40%
Airports & Airlines 1%
NGO 1%
Business 18%
Journalists & Media 10%
Religious Figures/Institutions 7%
Police 1%
Transportation 7%

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