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British Authorities Search for More Suspects and Warn Attack Could Still Be Underway

August 10, 2006 8:25 AM

Ap_heathrow_crowd_060810_nr_1Scotland Yard officials do not believe they have captured all the members involved in today's terror plot out of Heathrow Airport and are urgently searching for more suspects. 

Authorities are concerned that those still at large may well have instructions to act now if the plot was disrupted, and they have not ruled out other cities and airports as possible targets of attacks. ABC News has been told that this is a well organized, "for real"  plot, not an informant's suggestion.

The 21 suspects already in custody are almost all British citizens of Pakistani descent reflecting the growing influence of Pakistani members in al Qaeda.  The operation is eerily similar to an earlier al Qaeda plot uncovered in the Philippines in 1995, in which 12 airplanes were supposed to have been blown up midair at the same time.

The terrorists captured overnight in London were planning to use a liquid acid explosive that can either be clear or milky depending on the formula and could be mixed up in a bathtub. A container the size of a water bottle could be enough to blow a hole in an airplane and bring down a major passenger jet, which is why airport authorities are stopping passengers from carrying liquids onboard, in particular baby bottles.

Onboard explosions were successful in two previous terror attacks in August 2004 when two Russian airliners that crashed nearly simultaneously were believed to be brought down by explosives. In 1994, a Japanese passenger was killed when a bomb hidden under a seat exploded midair on a Philippine Airlines flight.

August 10, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (161)

User Comments

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Thank you Scotland Yard. Very, very good work.

Posted by: Wendy Kelly Budd | Aug 10, 2006 12:24:59 PM

Now what do all the Bush Bashers have to say! Go Bush, and don't stop.

Posted by: rod | Aug 10, 2006 12:26:47 PM

Hail to the British!!!!!!!

Posted by: carolyn glncey | Aug 10, 2006 12:29:46 PM

Why on earth can we not find Bin Lauden ? I just don't get that.

Posted by: Suzanne | Aug 10, 2006 12:31:17 PM

I'm glad the authorities caught them but there will be more people in line to take their place. As fast as we can catch or kill these terrorists, more step up to take their place. There seem to be no easy answers or solutions to problems in the Middle East. These people only know two ways of life; death and war. Heck, they even celebrate people killing themselves and others around them. What kind of screwed up society do these people come from?

Posted by: Ryan | Aug 10, 2006 12:36:06 PM

I believe AlQueda is all over the place, and they are going to get us sooner or later, wake up USA!!!
Security on airlines should of figured this out sooner too, liquids not allowed on flights. We always need a catastrophe to learn. American home of the free. How true!!!!!!!!

Posted by: dstolfi | Aug 10, 2006 12:36:42 PM

Oh great. Why don't the British take these terrosists and give them equal justice under the law and spend millions of dollars tring to do just that. Equal justice as far as I am concerned is making these boneheads wear vests made of bombs and let them detonate the vests themselves. And then they can die for Allah and not harm anyone else.

Posted by: Paul Cameron | Aug 10, 2006 12:39:19 PM

I don't buy all this BS!
Every single major terror alert issued by either the US, Canadian or UK governments has proven to be either a manufactured facade, an entrapment sting or an outright hoax.
The Bush and Blair approval ratings are very low, what a perfect way to try to bring them back up some.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 10, 2006 12:40:21 PM

everyday im hustling

Posted by: jj | Aug 10, 2006 12:41:15 PM

terrorists are cowards.

Posted by: nate | Aug 10, 2006 12:41:42 PM

Why are we STILL allowing 'students' from Mid-Eastern countries to attend college here in the US? Are American colleges THAT greedy for money? (foreign students pay as much as 2-3 times the tuition that American do)

Posted by: sue wo | Aug 10, 2006 12:42:16 PM

I think it is time to remove "all" Middle Eastern people in this country, if they hate us so much they should "NOT" be here. Sorry to the good people, your crazy country men are ruining it for your chance at freedom. Don't these people understand how Great it is to be free!!!!

Posted by: KATHY S | Aug 10, 2006 12:43:57 PM

Don't lose your heads. This may have been a big event in the fight against terrorism, but you're all freaking out about long lines and conspiracy theories.

Also, stop taking snipes at other people. A few bad apples shouldn't be responsible for condemning an entire race of people.

Posted by: Jay | Aug 10, 2006 12:44:50 PM

It sickens me that countries who know there population has been infiltrated by extremests don't do more to root them out and destroy them like a cancer. When has Pakistan done any public action towards those who preach violence and terrorism? Sometimes I wish this country and Britian would just come down so hard on terrorists to make them examples to all the little disenchanted brats who wish to become terriorist in the name of allah. I wish we were allowed to hang their bodies in the streets like in the 16th century!

Posted by: Rebecca | Aug 10, 2006 12:44:52 PM


The airlines better start offering meals again...

Seriously, we're dealing with highly determined people that also happen to be zealots. No matter how tight the security becomes, they will find a way to thwart it.

Either we unleash bombs over everyone we think are out to harm us and destroy every last person or we deal with the fact that there will always be civilian casualties in war. They aren't terrorists; they are a well organized guerrilla army. Until we start treating them like an army, we may never win this "war on terror." The "war on terror" will just become another "war on drugs."

Posted by: Holly | Aug 10, 2006 12:46:14 PM

Until we shut down our borders, there is always going to be a threat - whether they come from overseas, Canada or Mexico. Stop the student visa's. Probably none of your readers remember when they deported several students back in the 1980's. Obviously, we are not bright enough to have learned the lesson.

Posted by: T. Rex | Aug 10, 2006 12:50:43 PM

I'm no wacky conspiracy theory guy...but find it interesting that when the administrations political outlook plumets deeper and deeper towards the shitter, these things pop up.

I mean...take a look at the 11 egyptian students. Why didn't they post pictures of them on the news or internet? just seems a little timely.

Posted by: Richard Biggums | Aug 10, 2006 12:52:42 PM

God forgive me for saying this. It's time for the UN to take a back seat. I am Australian. I have a family. My son is 3 years old and I love my family beyond words. What I am about to say pains me deeply.

July 16, 1945 Hiroshima. "Little boy" was dropped and to this day I still can not fathom why? Today it is August 10th 2006. Forgive me god but if there was a time to perform such a criminal tragedy it is now. “little Boy” or a “Bigger Brother” should be dropped immediately. I see no other way. It pains me to speak of such things.

Posted by: A. Thomas | Aug 10, 2006 12:53:59 PM

Now I hope all these bleeding heart people get the message, these so-called fanactics are just out to get western cultural people and establish a Islamic world! Its time to get your act together and start pushing them around and be done with them. Remember what the world did for Hitler before they finally did something!

Posted by: bill moyer | Aug 10, 2006 12:56:32 PM

I guess W and Dick will bomb Iraq again!

Posted by: Tommy | Aug 10, 2006 1:02:47 PM

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