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Key facts of alleged airline bomb plot conspiracy
AFP
LONDON
Petroleumworld.com 08 12 06
Here are the main facts behind what the authorities in Britain and elsewhere say was a terrorist plot to blow up US-bound airliners that has led to more than 30 people being arrested.
THE PLOT:
- Described by police as intended to cause "untold death and destruction" and commit "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".
- Intelligence suggested explosive devices were to be constructed in Britain and taken through British airports.
- Aim was to smuggle devices onto airplanes in hand luggage and detonate them in flight.
- Intended targets were flights from Britain to the United States.
- Number, destination and timing of flights still under investigation, according to police.
- Alleged plot was said to be in late stages when police decided to take urgent action.
- Robert Mueller, head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, says alleged conspiracy had "earmarks of an Al-Qaeda plot".
THE POLICE OPERATION:
- Carried out by Metropolitan Police's Anti-Terrorist Branch and Britain's domestic security service, MI5. Major operation lasted several months.
- Twenty-four people arrested in Britain early on Thursday, most in east London, on suspicion of committing, preparing or instigating Acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.
- One person released on Friday. Police given more time to detain 22 others. Hearing on Monday on further detention of 23rd suspect.
- Seven others arrested in Pakistan last week, including two Britons of Pakistani origin.
- Raids in Walthamstow, east London; High Wycombe, northwest of London; and Birmingham, Britain's second city in central England. Business and residential premises searched, including Internet cafes.
- British Home Secretary John Reid has said police believe "main players have been accounted for".
- Police looked at meetings, movements, travel, spending and the "aspirations" of a large group of people with an "unprecedented level of surveillance".
- Involved cooperation with international agencies, particularly Pakistan.
- Germany investigating alleged links between one of the suspects and the wife of a member of the Hamburg cell behind the September 11, 2001, attacks.
- British intelligence looking at possible links with other home-grown security suspects, including July 7 suicide bombers, according to The Times newspaper.
THE SUSPECTS:
- Suspect held in Metropolitan Police custody, most likely at the high-security Paddington Green station.
- Bank of England, Britain's central bank, releases names of 19 of the 24 arrested in Britain. Youngest is aged 17, oldest is 35. Most are in their 20s.
- Of those named, 14 live in east London, four in High Wycombe, one in Birmingham. All appear to have Muslim names.
- Britain's domestic Press Association news agency says most believed to be of Pakistani origin.
- British newspapers say some raised as Muslims, others converts. Suspects include a taxi driver, an accountant, a security worker at London's Heathrow Airport and a pizza delivery man.
- Pakistan authorities say Briton Rashid Rauf, arrested there on August 4 and an uncle of one of those in custody, is a "key person", whose information prompted the raids.
- Islamabad says "indications of Afghanistan-based Al-Qaeda connection" to Rashid Rauf's case.
THE GOVERNMENT:
- Operation carried out with full knowledge of ministers.
- Several meetings of COBRA, the government's emergencies contingency committee, involved security chiefs and senior ministers, chaired by Reid.
- Prime Minister Tony Blair, on holiday in Barbados, kept in "constant contact".
- Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, filling in for Blair in his absence, said on Friday: "The threat level is critical, so people should remain vigilant".
THE AFTERMATH:
- Britain put on "critical" alert status for first time, meaning "an attack is expected imminently and indicates an extremely high level of threat to the UK". Reid says will remain in place as "precautionary measure".
- Airport security tightened at British and world airports, causing flight cancellations and delays across the globe.
- Bank of England freezes accounts of 19 of 24 men arrested in Britain.
- US President George W. Bush, told about the plot on Sunday, says it is "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists".
AFP 12 1401 GMT 08 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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