Police have foiled a major plot to "commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale'' by destroying as many as 10 passenger jets in mid-air.
The targets were flights leaving UK airports to the United States.
Anti-terror police arrested 21 people in London, the Thames Valley and Birmingham as stringent new security measures were imposed on all UK airports.
A ban on hand luggage along with other checks and precautions led to chaos at airports where scores of flights were cancelled and massive queues built up.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said the plot was designed to cause "untold death and destruction''.
He added: "This was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale.''
Searches were on-going at a number of addresses, he added. Sources indicated that the majority if not all of those arrested were British.
Home Secretary John Reid said the plot represented "a major threat to the UK and international partners''.
He said that the terrorists planned to "bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions, causing a considerable loss of life''.
The official UK terror threat state was raised to "critical" - its highest level - as travellers were urged not to attempt to catch flights unless it was essential.
Among the measures introduced at airports were specific restrictions on taking liquids on board, prompting speculation that the terrorists were planning to smuggle liquid explosive devices on to jets.
It is believed the covert investigation had been going on for several months and it is understood that officers made the arrests not because they feared an attack was likely to happen immediately but for other intelligence reasons, which meant they had to act quickly.
The Department for Transport said it was hoped that the extra security measures would be needed "for a limited period only''.
Downing Street said the anti-terror operation had been undertaken "with the full support'' of Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is on holiday in the Caribbean.
He had been "in constant contact'' with the situation in the UK and had briefed US President George Bush, a spokesman said.
i think this is a way to divert whats going on in midle east. nevertheless if ther ewere some wackos planning to blow up planes and there was a serious threat then Alhumdulillah it has been stopped
Our Lord! Verily, we have heard the call of one calling to Faith: 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed.
Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and expiate from us our evil deeds, and make us die (in the state of righteousness) along with Al-Abrar
i think the only plot is to create islamphobia and cause the world public to support the "war on terror" and be sympatethic to israel war against muslims
Former American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was once reported to have said “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price--we think the price is worth it” when asked if the death of 500,000 Iraqi Children was worth it to keep the sanctions in place and hurt the former regime of Saddam Hussein.
Although we don’t yet know who exactly is behind the latest Terrorist plot in Britain to blow up aeroplanes flying to America but terrorists in the past have justified killing many less civilians in Britain and the US by applying the same perverse logic as our own governments have used against other peoples overseas.
“You kill our civilians so we will kill yours.” Sick isn’t it? This argument is of-course wrong but when the US and UK allies go and kill hundreds of thousands of Muslim civilians in unjust wars is anyone surprised if those chickens come home to roost with attacks against Western civilians targets?
Daw’ud Mannion,
Sheffield, UK
please everyone send in something simular as it will help show the double standards of the kuffar who kill so many and kick up such a fuss when a few of their own are threatened.
I read this, and being used to flying abroad, this seems like a big setup/fake story. I don't believe people would be able to do this to begin with - take considerable explosives on a plane - As the checks are too severe.
Its another story - To terror the people - TO gain support for there worldy affairs - This one seems to be to cover up a bit of Lebanon or future wars.
Stating "conspiracy theories" is just ignorant - It is my opinion - and after alot of research of many facts and documents - its far more plausible, then say what you see on the media that a man from a cave blew up 2 towers.
i think the only plot is to create islamphobia and cause the world public to support the "war on terror" and be sympatethic to israel war against muslims
Because there's no way muslims would cause terror using planes... oh wait
please everyone send in something simular as it will help show the double standards of the kuffar who kill so many and kick up such a fuss when a few of their own are threatened.
So you think we have it coming? That we deserve to have our planes blown up? Well let me tell you something you disgust me. You don't wanna play this game because there will be mass deportations and a lot more dead muslims.
Because there's no way muslims would cause terror using planes... oh wait
innocent until PROVEN guilty
guyabano... even though i think something i do not reject that there is a POSSIBLITY of terrorists, not muslims but terrorists or any relgion doing ushc a horrible act and i condemn it. as i said. maybe you didnt read...
Our Lord! Verily, we have heard the call of one calling to Faith: 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed.
Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and expiate from us our evil deeds, and make us die (in the state of righteousness) along with Al-Abrar
I read this, and being used to flying abroad, this seems like a big setup/fake story. I don't believe people would be able to do this to begin with - take considerable explosives on a plane - As the checks are too severe.
Its another story - To terror the people - TO gain support for there worldy affairs - This one seems to be to cover up a bit of Lebanon or future wars.
Stating "conspiracy theories" is just ignorant - It is my opinion - and after alot of research of many facts and documents - its far more plausible, then say what you see on the media that a man from a cave blew up 2 towers.
It was liquid explosives that can be passed off as water. It's totally plausible.
guyabano... even though i think something i do not reject that there is a POSSIBLITY of terrorists, not muslims but terrorists or any relgion doing ushc a horrible act and i condemn it. as i said. maybe you didnt read...
I don't get you ? Where did I mention the word "Muslim" ? I also presume, it were terrorists.
i think the british inteligence has lost its credibility after all the other previous mishaps....
they arrest all these ppl ,,, how many i wonder every get charged for anything at all....
n why dont the media get hyped up wen they release them all,why dont they cover that....
Its all a diversion from the middle east....n the jews will take advantage i bet...
As if they need diversions, they been bombarding Lebanon for a few weeks, what more could they do? Nothing left, so stop claiming it's a ploy to divert attention. Next you'll say 7/11 didn't happen!
Ėk Gusā Alhu Mėrā
The One Lord, the Lord of the World, is my God Allah.
Dhan Guru Arjan Dev Mahraaj Ji!
Kal Meh Bėḏ Atharbaṇ Hū Nā Kẖuḏā Alhu Bẖa.
In the Dark Age of Kali Yuga, the Atharva Veda became prominent; Allah became the Name of God.
Terrorists plot to kill innocents on plane foiled!
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Terrorists were in the final stages of planning to blow up planes heading to the United States from Britain, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday.
The plans were "suggestive of an al Qaeda plot," he said.
British police said they had arrested 21 suspects in the plot to blow up passenger jets flying between the United Kingdom and the United States.
The effects of the plot rippled across the globe Thursday.
The U.S. raised the terror threat level to "severe" for all flights leaving Britain for the United States. Britain raised its alert level to "critical."
A British security official told Reuters news service the plotters could have been just days away from their attacks.
The plot involved hiding liquid explosives in carry-on luggage, U.S. officials said.
Passengers at all U.S. and British airports, and those boarding U.S.-bound flights at other international airports, are banned from taking any liquids onto planes. British police are also banning passengers from carrying electronic key fobs, which have the potential to trigger bombs. (Watch what passengers must do at the world's busiest international airport -- 3:06)
A U.S. administration official said the plot targeted Continental, United, British Airways and American Airlines flights to New York, Washington and California. (Map of flight delays)
Six to 10 flights were targeted, U.S. officials said.
U.S. and British officials said some suspects could still be on the loose and their investigations were continuing.
Flights were canceled or delayed at airports across Europe and the United States as the new security measures produced massive lines at airports. (Full story)
In a sign of the heightened security, Chertoff said the U.S. was dispatching extra air marshals to Britain.
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ordered the National Guard to Boston's Logan Airport.
Police said they were still raiding businesses and homes, and Chertoff said it was unclear if all suspects were in custody.
Chertoff said the plotters were "getting close to the execution phase."
"There were very concrete steps under way to execute all elements of the plan," he said.
The plot was "intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale," London's Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said. (Full story)
British investigators are telling the U.S. that terrorists planned "to get on board with liquid substances that when mixed could be turned into something that could be detonated." (
'Untold death and destruction' planned -- 2:37)
"What makes it frightening is the sophistication to turn relatively common materials into a dangerous" bomb, a U.S. intelligence official told CNN.
Passengers "were not yet sitting on an airplane," but were very close to traveling, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official told The Associated Press.
Chertoff said the plan was reminiscent of a plot by 9/11 coordinator Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who in 1995 had envisioned detonating bombs on 11 airlines possibly traveling over the Pacific Ocean.
The plot was "as sophisticated as any we have seen in recent years as far as terrorism is concerned," Chertoff said. (Watch Chertoff detail the threat to blow up jetliners -- 7:38)
CNN terror analyst Peter Bergen said two factors pointed to the influence of al Qaeda. He said al Qaeda was "obsessed" with commercial aviation and that the timing of the plot was "very interesting."
"It's not clear when this was going to be implemented ... but we are coming up on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. They do want to make a big statement," he said on CNN's "American Morning."
Britain's threat warning level has been raised to "critical" -- meaning an attack is expected imminently.
The U.S. threat level has been raised to the highest level of "severe," or red, for commercial flights originating in the United Kingdom bound for the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security. (Full story)
In addition, the threat level has been raised to "high," or orange for all commercial flights operating in or coming to the United States, the DHS said.
The nation's overall terror threat level has not been altered.
Thursday was the first time the DHS has raised the threat level for a specific group of flights.
"Due to the nature of the threat revealed by this investigation, we are prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from being carried on the airplane," a DHS statement said.
Increased security means airline passengers around the country should show up at least two hours early for all flights, an official with the Transportation Security Administration told CNN.
British and U.S. security agencies quickly moved to impose strict limits on carry-on items in the wake of Thursday's arrests, causing extended delays at airport security checkpoints. (Full story)
The British Airports Authority said no hand luggage would be allowed onto planes leaving British airports until further notice.
British Airways canceled all short haul flights in or out of Heathrow Airport for Thursday, and delays were stacking flights up at airports across Europe.
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