British authorities arrested 21 people
Source: Fox News
British authorities said Thursday they thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage, averting what police described as “mass murder on an unimaginable scale.â€
Police arrested 21 people, saying they were confident they captured the main suspects in what U.S. officials said had the earmarks of an Al Qaeda plot.
Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain — suggesting a terrorist attack might be imminent — and banned carry-on luggage on all flights. Huge crowds backed up at security barriers at London’s Heathrow airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula.
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the suspects in an alleged plot to “appear to be of Pakistani origin.â€
Speaking after an urgent security meeting with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Sarkozy said Paris had been in close contact with British authorities, but he did not give a precise source for the information on the suspects.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the terrorists planned to use liquid explosives disguised as beverages and other common products and set them off with detonators disguised as electronic devices.
From what I hear there may be more arrests in The U.K. I have heard that as much as 50 terrorists may be involved.
In the meantime, airline security has been elevated and no liquids or gels will be allowed in carry on bags. This is due to the fact that the terrorists were going to use liquid explosives. If you are flying you better contact the airport because it was also being discussed that laptops and cell phones might also be prohibited in the near future.
I hope this serves as a reminder to Americans the war on terror is FAR from being over.
August 22nd, 2006 at 2:33 pm
[...] Â In 1985 travel was so easy. Security delays were uncommon. Baggage was restricted only by practicality. You could fly Concord to Paris and then a shuttle to Nice. Or take a roomy Pan Am 747 directly from New York to Nice – those still being the days when hospitality was something airlines like Pan Am relished in providing. War and terror certainly weren’t unheard of or very far away. More than once we’d gaze across the Mediterranean and picture Khadafy (the 1980’s terrorist #1)Â acting up on the other side. But strolling around Nice’s flower market, a town square of sorts strewn with dealers of antiques, brightly colored flowers and fresh vegetables mixed randomly with the tables of leisurely bars and cafes, the realities of war and terror couldn’t have seemed further away. [...]