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U.S. Air Marshals Flooding German, British Flights
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ShareMay 14, 2007 1:14 PM
As many as five or six U.S. air marshals are now assigned to each U.S.-bound flight from airports in Frankfurt, London and Manchester, England, because of fears terrorists might attempt a coordinated series of mid-air explosions, law enforcement officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
"We're afraid someone in the back is going to mix something or light something up, so air marshals are being placed strategically through the plane," said one senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the stepped-up security.
The stepped-up security on flights out of Britain's Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports began about two weeks ago, based on intelligence reports that another al Qaeda hijacking plot was in the making, the officials said.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
ABC News reported last Friday that U.S. and German officials fear a new terror attack is in the advanced planning stages.
Security on all flights out of Germany was increased about two months ago, based on similar intelligence, the officials said.
U.S. officials said the federal air marshals re-organized coverage of domestic flights and canceled some training classes to have enough marshals for the expanded coverage out of Germany and Britain.
A spokesperson for the air marshal program confirmed coverage in Europe had been increased "but not at the expense of protecting U.S. domestic flights."
U.S. officials said Germany law enforcement is providing full coverage of flights by Lufthansa and other German-based carriers flying into the United States. "They are stretched so thin they've had to rely on German military officers to help out," one U.S. official said.
"The intelligence was that there are plans to take a plane and crash it in a high-density, high-profile place," one official told ABCNews.com. The official said the timing and identity of the "high-profile place" was not contained in the intelligence reports.
U.S. officials said that an al Qaeda-connected cell in southwest Germany had been under 24-hour surveillance since the beginning of the year after some of its members were detected conducting surveillance on the headquarters of the U.S. European Command at Patch Barracks, near Stuttgart.
The cell, officials said, is made up of members of the Islamic Jihad Group, a violent terrorist organization based in Uzbekistan.
Two members of the cell were spotted outside Patch Barracks late on New Year's Eve, officials said. When questioned, officials said they said "they wanted to see what U.S. soldiers do on New Year's Eve."
Further surveillance and intelligence reports led to stepped-up security at U.S. military and diplomatic facilities last month in Germany.
The U.S. Embassy in Berlin posted a warning that U.S. citizens should be vigilant because of a "heightened terror threat."
The official threat level in Britain is assessed as "severe," the highest level that signifies an attack is highly likely. It has been at the "severe' level since an earlier hijacking plot was revealed last Aug. 14, 2006.
May 14, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (49)
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Ever wonder why Isreali airplanes don't have this problem--I'LL TELL YOU WHY, they don't let these animals on airplanes.
And for those who scream discrimination, TOUGH. It keeps the rest of us safe.
Posted by: brian | May 14, 2007 4:41:05 PM
Oooo! Scary terrorists plotting again! Everyone into the cellar! What a bunch of cowards this nation has become.
Posted by: Grant Savage | May 14, 2007 4:58:49 PM
Grant Savage:Oooo! Scary terrorists plotting again! "Everyone into the cellar! What a bunch of cowards this nation has become".
Apparently Grant, you have never visited Ground Zero. 3000 Dead. We are NOT "hiding in the cellar" as you put it, we are being vigilant so attacks like that are not repeated. You better bet your rear that AQ is plotting again, and that we are as a nation doing everything possible to prevent it. Brian is correct. You do not hear of things like this happening on El Al because they do not let political correctness get in the way of security. And I am a patriotic Democrat, so don't give me the GWB hurrahs. Things aren't going so well in Iraq under his "leadership".
Posted by: Larry | May 14, 2007 5:57:19 PM
Don't play that 9/11 crap with me. That pig won't fly. If you want to let AQ call the plays or resort to the racist policies that ELAl uses, that is your affair. We're no longer the Home of The Brave, but Home of the Cowards. Vigilant?
Posted by: Grant Savage | May 14, 2007 6:06:00 PM
LOL I agree with Grant. The new generation of Americans are mostly liberal wimps. No one wants to go and fight anymore. The Greatest Generation from the 40s we're the last toughest Americans that have ever lived. Americans were tougher then. Today's Americans are more concerned about American idol then wanting to win wars abroad whether we belong there or not. I truly believe that this country will be screwed in the next 50 years if we as Americans don't stand up and get up off our lazy butts to straighten the world back into its place.
Posted by: Dirka Dirka | May 14, 2007 6:07:24 PM
This is why we need our troops on the streets in our major cities. The threats are coming fast and thick and we should take them seriously. Our troops exist to protect our civilians from armed attack. And these jihadis are armed attackers. That means the police are not good enough to do the job and meet the threat level. And should we have aggressive searches of suspects: hell yes!
Posted by: Bob Macdonald | May 14, 2007 6:51:58 PM
" Israeli with their terrorist activities against Palestinians,"
--What rubbish. More typical anti-semite proganda, ...as expected. Do you know that Israel's Arab citizens live a lot better off with more rights than other arab minorities in Arab lands? Tehy can vote, have eaqual say in elections, etc, etc. You try to live in Israel and you will see you have a voice, unheard of in most Islamic regions. Also, do us a favour and read teh real history of the regin adn you wil lfind how "Plestinians" are not a real people group but from a pool of Arab refugees, left in waht was then considered a watsteland. "Paletstine" was never ever a formal potlical entiy as "Paletstinians" are now trying to portray it. It has always been ruled by invaders, however Israel has historically been the Jewish homeland. BTW, did you know that "jerusalm" is not even consdiered a holy place in the Koran--not mentioned once. Now, it is used, like the Palestinians as a political tool against Jewish peoples.
Posted by: oh please | May 14, 2007 6:55:45 PM
Im British and I dont support the troops of the US and the UK taken into Iraq for a pack of lies. People dont attack Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and other countries launching wars. Somebody said "we know Saddam had chemical weapons - we sold them to him in the 80s when we were supporting Iraq fighting Iran". Read some history. Post WWI we divided up the region - with little more thought than a sketch on the back of a napkin.
Posted by: bob smith | May 14, 2007 7:00:41 PM
Oh Please
Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is recognised as a messenger in the Holy Koran.
Try again
Posted by: Chris | May 14, 2007 7:20:30 PM
"People dont attack Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland..."
Tell that to Theo Van Gogh!
Posted by: jopalm | May 14, 2007 7:40:37 PM
nice to see terrorists improving the image of the islamic world again...
Posted by: ben | May 15, 2007 4:02:09 AM
These comment threads generally consist of several sane people rejecting the obvious fear-based programming right from the beginning. Then the operatives show up and disaggregate that sanity, turning these comment threads into their own circus. I'm happy that more people every day are getting wise and coming together. Its a great opportunity for humanity to rid ourselves of those elitist parasites. Its a great day to be alive! Fear is a prison, extricate yourselves from their fear-based control! And celebrate together!
Posted by: Mark | May 15, 2007 6:02:56 AM
I just flew back to the US from Frankfurt (May 13) and didn't see one person who looked like an "air marshal" on the flight. And this was one day after this "big story" broke.
Posted by: Joe T. | May 15, 2007 7:22:32 AM
The "Greatest Generation" were those that fought on the wrong side and joined with communism in giving up America's culture and heritage. When you watch the nation being further pushed towards the third-world and a vassal state of Israel, look no further than to the "Greatest Generation" who made it all possible. They squandered everything and doomed the nation.
Posted by: New Generation | May 15, 2007 9:04:21 AM
Why are they writing an article about the numbers and seating of air marshals? In my opinion this is complete BS, why do they feel the need to disseminate that kind of information. The advantage air marshalls have is they don't know exactly where they are sitting and how many are on board, then ABC posts an article about coverage, seating, and numbers. NOT GOOD!
Posted by: Unknown | May 15, 2007 11:27:29 AM
If everyone wants the "terrorists" to stay away, why then doesn't someone, namely GW Bush CLOSE OUR BORDERS to foreign illegals???? Terrorists are WALKING into the US EVERY DAY. No problems, no arrests, no NOTHING. If something happens, you can thank Bush for this favor he is doing for you and then telling you that they are just "doing jobs AMERICAN JUST WON'T DO." Ha! Ha! BULL-ONEY! There are no jobs Americans won't do except BLOWING EACH OTHER UP WITH BOMBS!
Posted by: artist22 | May 15, 2007 12:21:29 PM
That's right, Lulu, it's those evil Israelis who are strapping bombs onto their children and sending them off to kill innocent civilians.
What the Palestinians are doing goes against the whole history of human existence -- mothers (and fathers) sacrificing their children to kill and maim other innocents -- and then claiming pride in their actions. They're sick.
Posted by: Jarhead | May 15, 2007 1:29:09 PM
Why are we playing by the rules with the terrorists when they are planning to kill us? Waiting until we have evidence to arrest them gives them the advantage. The reason we have a CIA is to kill terrorists before they can make their move. So let's get it done.
Posted by: Tantor | May 15, 2007 2:57:46 PM
hi
Its good to hear that,if they are so concerned about the security of themselves they should regard and respect the integrity of other countries,if someone who can create trouble in any form can labelled as terrorist ,i believe carrying airstrikes and forcibly threatening others
by weapons is the biggest and worst form of terrorism.,
they should know the root cause of terrorism thats is illegally occupying and murdering innocents in the name of democracy
Posted by: shah | May 15, 2007 3:16:47 PM
This is something that should not have been broadcast. How are you going to catch them if you let them know you're watching?
Posted by: Dave | May 15, 2007 5:14:06 PM
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