Airplane Bomb Plot 'Ringleader' Suspect To Escape Terror Charges

November 19, 2007 12:48 PM

Stephen Grey and Gretchen Peters Report:

The suspected ringleader of an al Qaeda plot to blow up passenger planes over the Atlantic won't face criminal charges for the alleged conspiracy, British authorities have revealed.

In an unexpected twist, however, Rashid Rauf may be extradited to the U.K. on an unrelated murder charge. But once in the U.K., British law prevents authorities from charging or even questioning Rauf about the alleged airliner plot.

Rauf, a British-Pakistani, denies any connection to terrorism, though he was named in British press reports and by U.K. intelligence sources as one of the key figures behind a plot to smuggle liquid explosives on board airliners bound for the United States.

It was Rauf's arrest in Pakistan in August 2006 that led police in Great Britain to call off a surveillance operation and to swoop in on an alleged al Qaeda cell whose members were said to be well-advanced with preparations for the potentially deadly operation which could have killed hundreds if successful.

The public revelation of the alleged plot led to unprecedented new security measures at airports worldwide, most of which remain in force.

Rauf has been held without trial in Pakistan since his arrest, but last week a court there ordered that he be released after the prosecution withdrew the case against him.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in Britain says that Rauf, who is a dual national, is now expected to be returned to London on an extradition warrant.

A spokeswoman for the CPS said Rauf would be returned as a murder suspect in an unrelated case on a warrant issued by police in the West Midlands area, and that he could not be charged or questioned about the airline plot.

"You cannot extradite someone for one offense and then question or charge them with another," she said.

Rauf is wanted in connection with the death of his uncle who was found dead in 2002 shortly before Rauf left the country to live in Pakistan.

Under controversial British law, which is currently a matter of hot debate by lawmakers in the Houses of Parliament, once a suspect is charged with an offense, he cannot be questioned any more by police. This meant, she said, that even if Rauf is charged with the West Midlands murder, he could not be questioned about the airline plot.

Rauf's lawyer, Hashmat Habib, told the Blotter on ABCNews.com that the extradition proceedings are illegal.

"Pakistan and the U.K. have no extradition treaty so they were ignoring the law of the land," said Habib.

Eleven people, aged 19 to 35, are awaiting trial in London for their alleged part in the airline plot.

Identified by some as an important connection between al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan's wild frontier regions and young British-Pakistani militants in England, Rauf has been a figure of deep controversy in intelligence circles.

Rauf's arrest in Pakistan was regarded by U.K. intelligence as premature, causing the police to swoop in on the suspected plotters in England earlier than planned.

And, according to U.K. sources, some British officials at first blamed the CIA or FBI, who had been told about the ongoing surveillance, of engineering Rauf's arrest in Pakistan and so forcing the hand of British authorities.

"There were some real suspicions and acrimony across the Atlantic about this," said one source, adding that relations were eventually patched up. "We realized the Americans acted in good faith; Rauf's arrest in Pakistan proved to be a pure coincidence."

*Stephen Grey is the author of "Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA's Rendition and Torture Program" (St Martin's Press). He is an award-winning investigative reporter who has contributed to the New York Times, BBC, PBS and ABC News among others.

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November 19, 2007 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Terror Charges Dropped Against Alleged U.K. Terror Plot Mastermind

December 13, 2006 9:34 AM

Habibullah Khan and Maddy Sauer Report:

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has dropped all terrorism-related charges against the British citizen who, U.S. authorities say, is the mastermind behind the U.K. terror plot to bomb a series of airplanes this summer.

Rashid Rauf still faces charges of fraud and possession of a fake passport, both of which will be pursued in a normal court. Rauf will remain in custody for the time being, and the government of Pakistan does have the right to appeal today's ruling.

Rauf's lawyer told the Agence France-Presse today that the prosecution had claimed Rauf was in possession of 29 bottles of the chemical hydrogen peroxide, which was meant to be used to blow up the passenger jets.

"But they failed to produce any evidence to support the allegations," the lawyer, Hasmat Habib, said. "This chemical is also used to heal wounds."

At the time of his arrest in Pakistan this summer, U.S. authorities described Rauf as the ringleader who was essentially running the plot by remote control from Pakistan. Authorities say they were able to track his phone calls back to London and wire transfers of money for the suicide bombers' plane tickets.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

Pakistani authorities arrested Rauf in cooperation with British authorities. They said he was found near the border with Afghanistan and had direct ties to al Qaeda.

December 13, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (5)

London Airplane Bomb Plotters Used eBay to Raise Funds, Built Detonators Inside AA Batteries

October 12, 2006 12:57 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:

The British terror cell that allegedly plotted to blow up flights from London to the U.S. helped finance the operation by buying and selling items on eBay, according to an intelligence report obtained by ABC News.

The intelligence update said suspect Assad Sarwar, 26, "used eBay extensively" to raise funds for the plot.  "It is believed they would sell and purchase items to make a profit to fund [the] plot."  There were no further details in the report. A spokesperson for eBay had no immediate comment.

The report says Sarwar also surfed the Internet to price and purchase supplies, including 20 liters of hydrogen peroxide bought online from a hydroponic gardening center.  Hydrogen peroxide is a critical ingredient in several types of homemade explosives.

Police say the plotters, who were arrested in August, intended to blow up as many as nine airplanes using liquid explosives disguised in sports drink bottles, in what would have been the most massive terrorist blow since Sept. 11, 2001.

According to the report, the suspects devised a chillingly effective method to conceal their detonators.  They hollowed out AA batteries and experimented with filling them with a small amount of homemade explosives and other components. Numerous AA batteries were seized at a house in High Wycombe, U.K., that investigators describe as "the bomb factory."

Video secretly recorded at that location allegedly shows two suspects at work drilling small holes in the bottom of plastic juice drinks. The update says, "They would then drain the liquid and replace this with [a homemade explosive] mixture."

The report indicates that London counterterrorism officials and police investigators are continuing to gather new evidence in the plot. By late September, at least 97 locations had been searched, and more than 14,000 separate exhibits catalogued by police.

"The enormity of the alleged plot will be matched only by our determination to follow every lead and line of inquiry," Deputy Assistant Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, Peter Clarke, said in August. "The meticulous investigation of all this material will take many months. All the data will be analyzed. There will be thousands of forensic examinations and comparisons. Fingerprints, DNA, electronic data, handwriting comparisons, chemical analysis and indeed the full range of forensic disciplines will be used."

A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said it had no comment on this ABC News report.

October 12, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (17)

Islamic Charity's Assets Frozen for Alleged Connection to Terrorism

August 24, 2006 4:50 PM

Brian Ross and Vic Walter Report:

Bank accounts of an Islamic charity alleged to have funded terrorist activities, including the recent plot to blow up U.S.-bound flights from London, were frozen today by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

"We are working with law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of allegations of possible terrorist abuse by the Crescent Relief funds," said Kenneth Dibble, director of legal and charity services at the Charity Commission.  "The allegations made are very serious, and we are taking this action to protect the charity's funds while the investigation is underway."

ABC News first reported that money donated to Crescent Relief for aid after the earthquake in Pakistan may have ended up in the hands of the alleged airplane bomb plot ringleader, Rashid Rauf. 
According to documents examined by ABC News, Abdul Rauf, the father of Rashid, and Mohammad Mumtaz, Rashid's uncle, established the London-based Crescent Relief in 2000.  The charity, currently run by Mumtaz, has since donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Pakistan for humanitarian purposes.

Officials say they believe Rashid, who has lived in Pakistan for the past few years, helped distribute the charity money and may have diverted some of the funds for his alleged terror plot.  U.S. officials confirmed  Rashid had wired large sums of money to London for his alleged co-conspirators to buy plane tickets shortly before the plot was foiled.

"The entire family helps" operate the charity, a former director of Crescent Relief, Mohammed Ansari, told ABC News.  Ansari said the funds raised by the charity were definitely earmarked for humanitarian purposes and that he had no knowledge of them being used for other purposes after they reached Pakistan.

Rashid and his father are now both in custody in Pakistan, according to intelligence officials there.  Tayib, Rashid's brother, was released yesterday in Birmingham without charge after being arrested as a suspect in the investigation of the alleged airplane bomb plot.

The Charity Commission says it will issue a full report on its findings once its investigation of Crescent Relief is complete.

August 24, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Eight Tapes, Eight Charges of Conspiracy to Murder

August 21, 2006 11:52 AM

Brian Ross Reports:

British police are believed to have recovered "martyrdom" videotapes for each of the eight people who were charged today with conspiracy to murder in the alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound aircraft, according to sources familiar with the case.

Three others were charged with less serious offenses, and 11 others remain in custody for further investigation.

The BBC reported last week that the tapes were recovered on computers seized during a series of searches.

The tapes were recorded by the alleged suicide bombers with the apparent intention they be played after the attacks had been carried out.

British police said today they had seized bomb-making equipment and more than 400 computers in 69 searches carried out in the last 10 days.

August 21, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Explosives Linked to London Plot Found

August 17, 2006 3:31 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:

A suitcase containing the powerful homemade high explosive HMTD and other bomb making components was found cached in the woods near High Wycombe, London, according to sources close to the London airline plot investigation.

ABC News has learned it is one of several discoveries in recent days near the area where several of the suspects lived. Sources say other discoveries include the precursor chemicals to making this explosive, which can be made from easily purchased materials used in cooking, camping and a variety of household products. Authorities are intensely looking for other buried caches of bomb making materials which they suspect are going to be found in the woods.

The explosive found in the suitcase is HMTD, which is very easy to detonate through heat, shock or friction. It is often used in blasting caps and other primary charges -- that is the smaller charges used to detonate larger charges -- such as a commercially made plastic explosive. In this case, however, it is currently believed to be an explosive used as a main charge.

Investigators say that the fact the alleged plotters hid the explosive far away from the place of manufacturer is a clear demonstration of lessons learned from the July 2005 bombings. In that case, more than 19,500 separate pieces of evidence were found, including more than 1,000 fingerprints in the apartments where bombs were assembled. In a corollary, the IRA wiped down apartments, and occasionally authorities found a single partial print -- because the bombers went so far as to wipe the undersides of sinks, tables, toilets.

In this case, investigators say searches of the households had yielded very little or no forensic evidence linking the alleged plotters to the devices.   British authorities have not commented on specific evidence found during searches.

August 17, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Another Family Member of Alleged Ringleader in Custody in Pakistan

August 16, 2006 3:49 PM

Gretchen Peters and Habibullah Khan Report:

Alexis Debat contributed to this report.

Abdul Rauf, the father of the alleged London plot ringleader Rashid Rauf, is in custody in Pakistan, according to intelligence sources there.

Abdul Rauf was arrested two weeks ago in Mirpur city, in a Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir.

Abdul's son is Rashid Rauf, whose arrest last Wednesday in Pakistan, prompted British authorities to round up 24 suspected plotters in Britain, including Rashid's brother Tayib. Rashid Rauf told police he was in the cosmetics business, and $4000 was seized from his home along with a laptop computer.

Officials tell ABC News that there is a connection between the Raufs and the family of the founder of a Pakistan-based extremist organization that is known to have ties to al Qaeda. Rashid's sister-in-law is married to the brother of Massood Azhar, the main suspect in an assassination attempt on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and who is wanted for a string of terrorist acts in India, including the deadly parliament attack in December 2001. Azhar is the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammad (Army of Mohammad), a group that has often acted as a facilitator for al Qaeda, according to analysts. 

British authorities are negotiating with Pakistan about the possibility of extraditing Rashid Rauf to the U.K., but the two countries have no formal extradition treaty. If Rauf is not extradited legally, any future prosecutions in the U.K. could be at risk.

Eight people so far have been arrested in Pakistan in connection with the case. Meanwhile, authorities in Pakistan continue to insist that the London terror plot was hatched in neighboring Afghanistan.

August 16, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Video Shows Suspect Hours before Arrest

August 15, 2006 3:06 PM

Vic Walter and Dana Hughes Report:

New surveillance video, released by the Associated Press, allegedly shows London terror suspect, Tayib Rauf, 22, just hours before he was arrested and taken into custody. Rauf was arrested in connection with a plot to blow up as many as 10 flights from London to the U.S.

On the video, a young-bearded man wearing a white t-shirt and beige pants walks into a Birmingham U.K. supermarket and up the stairs to an office. The tape also shows him leaving.

The store's owner says Rauf comes there to collect a check for orders made to his family's confectionary supply business. Two hours later, police raided his Birmingham house and took him into custody. Rauf's brother, Rashid, was arrested in Pakistan last week and is suspected of being the ringleader of the plot.

The footage, taken from store security cameras, was given to the AP by the store owner, who says he hopes it will help clear Tayib Rauf's name. The store owner's nephew, Abid Hussein, told the AP that the video showed Rauf is "looking after his Dad's business. And he's not the sort of person, who you know, is going to blow himself up at 2 o'clock in the morning when he's doing his stuff, collecting cash."

August 15, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (15)

British Charity Run by Alleged Ringleader's Family

August 14, 2006 4:16 PM

Brian Ross and Vic Walter Report:

Money sent to Pakistan for earthquake relief may have ended up in the hands of the alleged airplane bomb plot ringleader, Rashid Rauf, thanks to a charity set up by his father and uncle.

Documents examined by ABC News show that Rauf's father, Abdul Rauf, and his uncle, Mohammed Mumtaz, established the London-based Crescent Relief in 2000.  The charity, currently run by Mumtaz, has since sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Pakistan for humanitarian purposes.

Officials say they believe Rauf, who has lived in Pakistan for the last few years, helped distribute the charity money and may have diverted some of the funds for his alleged terror plot.

Rauf's brother is one of 23 people arrested in Great Britain in the case.

A former director of Crescent Relief, Mohammed Ansari, told ABC News "the entire family helps" in operating the charity.

Ansari told ABC News of a recent transfer of "90,000 to 100,000" British pounds to Pakistan, intended for earthquake relief.

"It was supposed to be used to buy sheets and beds," Ansari said.

Rashid Rauf, now in custody in Pakistan, has been identified by Pakistani and British authorities as the alleged ringleader of the airline plot who say he had access to large sums of money.

U.S. officials have told ABC News that Rauf had recently wired large sums to London so his alleged co-conspirators could buy plane tickets.

Crescent Relief is not connected with the international Red Crescent Society.

August 14, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (14)

Trail of Terror: U.K. Terror Plot Unravels

August 11, 2006 6:18 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

U.S. authorities say the British ringleader of the plot has been identified and is in custody in Pakistan along with two of his co-conspirators.

Authorities say Rashid Rauf was essentially running the plot by remote control from Pakistan. Authorities have been able to track his phone calls back to London and wire transfers of money intended to pay for the suicide bombers' plane tickets.

The suspected terrorists had planned to be on flights out of London today and tomorrow for a dry run of their plot had the plot not been disrupted.

U.S. authorities said today they're keeping their guard up in case of follow-on or copycat terrorists.

"There are other people out there who are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, so I'm not prepared to let my guard down," said Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. law enforcement sources tell ABC News more than 200 FBI agents have been searching for people connected to the plot here in the U.S.

With nothing found, so far at least, according to White House Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend on Good Morning America this morning.

"There is no indication of plotting, but of course we would be remiss if we weren't looking for connections between individuals here in the U.S. and the plotters in the U.K.," Townsend said. "There are leads that the FBI is running."

In Pakistan today, officials took credit for breaking the case through the surveillance of the one of the suspected plotters who reportedly met with a radical cleric.

Pakistani authorities said they had arrested the suspect, Rashid Rauf, on Wednesday in cooperation with British authorities. They said he was found near the border with Afghanistan and had direct ties to al Qaeda.

"They are saying that the cell that they dismantled here was very close to al Qaeda, was linked to al Qaeda," Alexis Debate, Senior Fellow at the Nixon Center in Washington, D.C. and ABC News consultant, said.

Despite a whirlwind of raids and arrests, the five missing suspects in London remain at large.

And U.S. officials confirm that one of the suspects was a Heathrow airport employee with an access pass that gives him the run of the airport.

August 11, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (14)

U.S.: Plot Was Run from Pakistan

August 11, 2006 5:49 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

U.S. officials say the three men arrested in Pakistan Wednesday ran the alleged airplane bomb plot, wiring the money for plane tickets to co-conspirators in London.

U.S. officials identified them as Rashid Rauf, Mohamed al-Ghandra and Ahmed al-Khan.

The arrest of the three men by Pakistani officials on Wednesday set in the motion the arrests in London on Thursday.

"They are considered the ringleaders," a law enforcement official told ABC News late Friday.

Officials in Pakistan said they had direct ties to al Qaeda commanders in the country.

August 11, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (1)

FBI Launched Stateside Investigation into U.K. Terror Plot

August 11, 2006 2:48 PM

Pierre Thomas and Jason Ryan Report:

In the last several weeks, the FBI dispatched over 200 agents from FBI Headquarters and had agents in every FBI field office running down leads and looking for any angle or connection to the U.K. plot and suspects, according to FBI and Justice Department officials.

As part of this effort, MI-5 and British security services provided a list of the suspects' names to U.S. officials. The FBI, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and other agencies spread around the intelligence community ran the names through all of their various databases looking for any information drawing a nexus between the U.K. suspects and any U.S. individuals or other U.S. connections.  There were some hits for phone calls made to relatives who live in the U.S., but so far none of these leads has developed any evidence of terrorism or plotting inside the United States. 

According to one Justice source, as the FBI looked for leads, there was a spike in the number of FISA applications submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to establish court-approved secret wiretaps and surveillance on potential terrorism suspects.

As noted yesterday, at this time, counter-terrorism officials have not been able to find any links inside the U.S. associated with this plot.

August 11, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Hot Plot, Frozen Assets

August 11, 2006 1:01 PM

Dana Hughes Reports:

Nineteen suspects taken into custody in the London terror plot have had their bank accounts frozen, the Bank of England announced today. 

The Bank of England published a list naming 19 of the 24 suspects arrested yesterday in the airline terror plot.  Their accounts were frozen under provisions of an anti-terrorism United Nations measure and United Kingdom law.

In a news release, the Bank of England stated today that "any funds held for or on behalf of the individuals named in the Annex to this News Release must be frozen, and that no funds should be made available, directly or indirectly, to any person, except under the authority of a license." 

Under the measure, no legitimate bank in the world can allow any person on the list to open an account or withdraw or deposit money without specific permission from the United Kingdom Treasury.

Most of the suspects on the list are British-born men in their 20s of Pakistani descent, although one is of Iranian descent. They hail from working-class neighborhoods and are described by neighbors as "normal" British boys who love soccer and fish and chips.   

Neighbors, however, say some of the suspects turned increasingly religious in the past few years. The next door neighbor of Oliver Savant, a 25-year-old British-Iranian who recently converted to Islam and changed his name to Ibrahim, says, "He was a nice little boy and then he grew up and turned religious. He started wearing all those robes and white caps."

The neighbor of suspect Waseem Kayani spoke of him traveling to Pakistan and returning to London with a wife and "more religious." 

It is alleged that many of the suspects received training and support from al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan.

While 24 suspects are in custody, ABC News reported that at least five more suspects remain at large.

See the Bank of England release with the 19 suspects' names.   

August 11, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Alleged Ringleader Was Arrested in Pakistan

August 11, 2006 11:55 AM

From Our Sources:

Pakistan officials say Rashid Rauf, a British national, was arrested in Pakistan in connection with the airliner bombing plot.

As ABC News previously reported, Rauf is one of the three alleged ringleaders of the plot, which was to carry on small but deadly bombs concealed in sports drink containers and to detonate them by a flash of a disposable camera while the passenger jet was in mid flight.

August 11, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Suspects Never Made It to the U.S.

August 11, 2006 10:37 AM

Brian Ross Reports:

None of the 24 suspected British plotters traveled to the United States for test runs, according to intelligence sources.

Approximately two weeks ago, British authorities gave U.S. officials the names of the suspects to run through databases to see if any of the suspects had traveled to the U.S. There were no hits under those names.

British police made the decision to move in and make the arrests early yesterday when they learned several of the men had booked flights to the U.S. in the coming days, for apparent trial runs.

August 11, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (2)

FBI Investigates American Connection to London Terror Plot

August 11, 2006 8:21 AM

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:

U.S. law enforcement sources tell ABC News the FBI is investigating new leads that involve a possible connection between people in the United States, in major east coast cities, and the London bomb plotters.
 
In an interview with ABC News this morning, White House Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend said while there is currently no indication of any plotting in the United States, she confirmed, "There are leads that the FBI is running."
 
With at least five, and maybe more, suspects still at large, it is the missing plotters who are the greatest security concern. Among those still at large are some of the suspected ringleaders of the London plot.

Congressman Peter King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told ABC News authorities are extremely concerned about the missing suspects. "They are on the loose," said King. "These are desperate, vicious people, who have a good degree of sophistication. And they're out there, if nothing else, they're available for future operations. The more deadly threat is that there is a plan B that they would be able to implement."

Intelligence officials tell ABC News the plot's trail leads directly to al Qaeda and to the Pakistani city of Karachi, where money for the plot was wired to London.

Officials say two of those arrested in London came to Karachi in the last few months for explosives training with known al Qaeda commanders.

The terrorists had planned to use a peroxide-based liquid explosive, dyed red, to appear as a sports drink. A $10 disposable flash camera was to be used as the detonating device.

Pakistani officials have made as many as nine arrests, but the suspected ringleader remains at large. Pakistani officials say this 29-year old al Qaeda commander, Matiur Rehman, was known to be planning a terror spectacular to mark the fifth anniversary of the 9/ll attacks, and some believe the London plot may have been it. 

ABC News consultant Alexis Debat, a terrorism expert at the Nixon Center in Washington D.C., says, "[Rehman] is the interface between al Qaeda's leadership and thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Pakistani militants who are able to provide the muscle for al Qaeda's operations not only in Pakistan but around the world."

August 11, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (34)

British Penetrate Terror Cell

August 10, 2006 9:06 PM

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:

Operation Overt, the British called it, though they cracked it using covert means. 

They had an undercover operative deep inside the group of at least 30 terrorists who had developed a simple, effective and potentially devastating plan to close the world's busiest airport, Heathrow, by carrying on small but deadly bombs concealed in sports drink containers and detonated by the flash of a disposable camera, intelligence and law enforcement officials told ABC News.

Even with an undercover operative on the inside, the British may not have known the full scope of the plot until it grew close to fruition, and authorities learned that the terrorists intended to assemble their bombs onboard at least six and as many as nine or 10 passenger jets that would depart from that airport.  The goal was to deal out mass death and destruction and a crippling blow to Heathrow, a top al Qaeda target since September 11th. 

The airlines targeted included United, Continental and American, and the cities to which flights would have headed included New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and Miami  -- all spots popular with British tourists as well as with Americans returning from trips abroad, sources said.

The planes were not to be blown up as they arrived at the cities, but in mid flight.

When the arrests were made Thursday morning, the plotters had reached the point of identifying airlines and routes, but had not yet picked flight numbers.  An arrest in Pakistan two days ago prompted authorities to begin to their round-up of suspects.  It appears the arrest in Pakistan would have quickly tipped the suspected terrorists to the undercover probe, and perhaps caused them to disperse, so authorities moved quickly.

But five key members of the cell  -- described by authorities as the ringleaders -- remain at large. The hunt for them, inside the U.K. and by intelligence and law enforcement authorities around the world, continues.

The intent by al Qaeda-inspired terrorists to destroy Heathrow's business and cripple England's economy dates back several years. One other plot has been thwarted by British authorities in the past. The idea of using multiple planes exploding in midair to create fear dates back further to the inspiration of master bomber Ramzi Yousef, who in 1994 first tried to knock multiple jets from the sky.

This latest plot, however, appears homegrown. The profile of the bombers -- young, longtime residents or citizens, inspired by al Qaeda and perhaps loosely linked to the old hierarchical terror group -- is the one that authorities have come to fear.

August 10, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (50)

Inside the U.K. Terror Plot

August 10, 2006 6:18 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

British police made the decision to move in and make arrests when they learned several of the men had booked flights to the U.S. in the next several days, for apparent trial runs.

It turns out British authorities have known of the airline plot for months, where it started and who helped organize and pay for it.

"We have been looking at meetings, movement, travel, spending and the aspirations of a large group of people," said Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism branch.

Intelligence officials tell ABC News the plot's trail leads to Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, where money for the plot was wired to London.

Officials say two of those arrested in London came here in the last few months for explosives training with known al Qaeda commanders.

"It clearly is an al Qaeda-type operation with links to al Qaeda," Rep. Pete King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said.

There were several arrests also made in Pakistan today in connection with the case, but the suspected ringleader remains at large. Pakistani officials say this 29-year old al Qaeda commander, Matiur Rehman, was known to be planning a terror spectacular to mark the fifth anniversary of the 9/ll attacks. The London plot may well have been it.

According to Alexis Debat, a Senior Fellow at the Nixon Center and ABC News Consultant, who is in Pakistan, "Matiur Rehman is crucial because he is the interface between al Qaeda's leadership and thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Pakistani militants."

The London plot is a carbon copy of another foiled al Qaeda effort, in 1995, to blow up 11 U.S. aircraft over the Pacific.

It was led by now imprisoned al Qaeda leader Ramzi Yousef.

"Ramzi Yousef was going to bring on the plane, in liquids secreted in contact lens fluid and put this into, saturated material into a stuffed doll that he was going to put on the plane and explode with a Casio watch," explained Jack Cloonan, former FBI agent and ABC News consultant. 

As British authorities continue to hunt for five other suspected terrorists, there is growing concern there could be a plan B.

"They're out there," said Rep. King. "If nothing else, they're available for future operations. The more deadly threat is that there is a plan B that they would be able to implement."

August 10, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (5)

ABC News Exclusive: Three Alleged Ringleaders ID'd

August 10, 2006 2:02 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

Three of the alleged ringleaders of the foiled airplane bomb plot have been identified by Western intelligence agencies involved in unraveling the plot.

Two of them are believed to have recently traveled to Pakistan and were later in receipt of money wired to them from Pakistan, reportedly to purchase tickets for the suicide bombers.

Sources identify the three, who are now in custody, as:

--Rashid Rauf

--Mohammed al-Ghandra

--Ahmed al Khan

August 10, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (241)

Explosive Gel Was to Be Concealed in Sports Drink

August 10, 2006 1:56 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:

The suspected terror plotters arrested in Britain had planned to conceal their liquid or gel explosives inside a modified sports beverage drink container and trigger the device with the flash from a disposable camera.

ABC News has learned exclusively that the plotters planned to leave the top of the bottle sealed and filled with the original beverage but add a false bottom, filled with a liquid or gel explosive. The terrorists planned to dye the explosive mixture red to match the sports drink sealed in the top half of the container.

This, they thought, would ensure that they would be able to pass through security -- even if they were asked to unseal and drink the beverage.

The flash in a disposable camera has enough electrical power, they apparently believed, to set off the homemade explosive.

There are any number of homemade or modified commercial liquids that would have made effective explosives, with enough energy to damage or destroy a plane.

August 10, 2006 in U.K. Airline Terror Plot | Permalink | User Comments (316)

Five London Suspects Still at Large

August 10, 2006 1:30 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

Five of the suspected London terrorists are still at large and are being urgently hunted, according to U.S. sources who have been briefed on the airplane bombing plot.

Officials tell ABC News 24 people now have been taken into custody.  Twenty-two are believed to be of Pakistani descent.  One is Bangladeshi, and another is of Iranian descent, according to the officials.

One of the arrests was made in the northeastern London suburb of Walthamstow. Residents said police took away a man in his late 20s at 2 a.m. today. The neighbors said the man was British-born, with one parent who is Iranian and had recently become very religious.

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The Anatomy of the Foiled Plot in London

August 10, 2006 9:47 AM

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:

The world learned of a terrorist plot Thursday that would have caused mass death and destruction aboard a number of passenger jets had British authorities not aggressively investigated and arrested many of the plotters.

More than 20 suspected terrorists were arrested in England by early Thursday morning, in an operation that involved British intelligence, Scotland Yard and assistance by a number of other law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including those in Pakistan. 

ABC News has learned that two "significant arrests" in Pakistan in recent days may have significantly accelerated the pace of the investigation.

Many of the alleged terror plotters appeared to be of Pakistani descent. It appears that they were probably "homegrown" terrorists with strong links to al Qaeda and Pakistani operatives. This new generation of terrorists have figured significantly in plots in the U.S., London and Canada in recent months.

In this case, the plotters apparently intended to assemble small but powerful bombs in flight and use them to take down flights from England to the United States in an operation that was just days away.

Airport security was tight in both nations. A "red alert" -- the highest alert level -- was issued in the U.S., and a "critical" state was issued in England. Passengers are undergoing intense scrutiny -- carry-on baggage of almost all kinds has been eliminated in Britain and delays abound at London's Heathrow, the world's busiest airport.

According to a Department of Homeland Security briefing to the aviation sector, the terrorists  appear to have planned to use multiple persons aboard each flight to assemble peroxide-based liquid or gel high explosives.  The bomb-making materials could easily be concealed in small containers -- water bottles, tooth paste tubes, juice boxes and any of the other numerous person items passengers traditionally take into the passenger compartment of commercial flights.

At least nine transcontinental flights from American, United and Continental airlines were targeted in the plot. ABC News has learned that terrorists planned to attack the planes three at a time, waiting an hour between each attack.

According to federal authorities, two or three bombers would each carry a separate portion of the bomb onto the plane to avoid detection.  Once onboard the bomb would be assembled and then detonated by using heat or friction.

British authorities had been tracking some of the suspects for several weeks but stepped in to round up the plotters when they began to book flight reservations and before any of the suspects purchased tickets.

British authorities have shared parts of the investigation with the FBI, and out of concern for leaks, only the barest details were shared with regional authorities as late as last night.

Now there is a continued concern that other members of the cell remain on the loose and may remain a present danger to intercontinental air traffic as well as air traffic in Europe. Raids were expected to continue in England throughout the day, and authorities were said to be seeking the "factories" where the bomb parts were prepared.

U.S. authorities, meanwhile, were running down leads to ensure no plotters or associates were within U.S. borders and intent on causing harm.

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

August 10, 2006 8:25 AM

Brian Ross Reports:

Scotland 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)