Foiled terrorist plot in the United Kingdom
The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives, carried aboard airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada, disguised as soft drinks. The plot was discovered by British Metropolitan Police during an extensive surveillance operation. As a result of the plot, unprecedented security measures were initially implemented at airports. The measures were gradually relaxed during the following weeks, but passengers are still not allowed to carry liquid containers larger than 100 ml onto commercial aircraft in their hand luggage in the UK and most other countries, as of 2024[ [update]].
Of 24 suspects who were arrested in and around London on the night of 9 August 2006, eight were tried initially for terrorism offences associated with the plot. The first trial occurred from April to September 2008. The jury failed to reach a verdict on charges of conspiracy to kill by blowing up aircraft but did find three men guilty of conspiracy to murder and acquitted one other of all charges. During September 2009, a second trial (of the now seven originally accused but with the addition of another man) found three men guilty of conspiracy to kill by blowing up aircraft and one other guilty of conspiracy to murder, while the 'additional' man was exonerated of all terrorism charges.
During July 2010, a further three of the accused were found guilty at a third trial at Woolwich Crown Court of conspiracy to murder. Thus, of the nine men tried, two were acquitted and seven found guilty of conspiracy charges.
Surveillance.
In Pakistan, a British man from Birmingham named Rashid Rauf is believed to have put plotters in touch with al-Qaeda's leadership. When Abdulla Ahmed Ali, who was being surveilled by police, returned from Pakistan in June 2006, investigators covertly opened his baggage. Inside they found a powdered soft drink—Tang—and a large number of batteries, which raised suspicions; in the following weeks the police mounted the UK's largest surveillance operation, calling on an additional 220 officers from other forces.
Assad Sarwar (from High Wycombe) was seen buying items that did not seem consistent with his daily needs. On one occasion surveillance officers watched him dispose of empty hydrogen peroxide bottles at a recycling centre. Sarwar and Ali were seen meeting in an east London park. When MI5 covertly entered a flat being used by Ali, they found what appeared to be a bomb factory. They installed a camera and microphone and on 3 August, Ali and Tanvir Husain were filmed constructing devices out of drink bottles. Surveillance officers later watched Ali spend two hours in an Internet cafe researching flight timetables.
Arrests.
On 9 August 2006, British police arrested 24 people for questioning. The arrests were made in London, Birmingham, and High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in an overnight operation. Two of the arrests were made in the Birmingham area and five were made in High Wycombe; firearms officers were not involved in the arrests. The key suspects were British-born Muslims, some of Pakistani descent. Three of the suspects were recent converts to Islam.
Eight of the suspects were later charged with conspiracy to murder and commit acts of terrorism, a further three with failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism, and one youth with possession of articles related to a terrorist act. Others were released without charge.
Police said they had been observing the plot evolve for months, and that the "investigation reached a critical point" on the night of 9 August 2006 when the decision was made to take urgent action in order to disrupt possible execution of the plot. An undercover British agent had infiltrated the group, according to CNN sources. According to Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom &amp; Security, "the plotters received a very short message to 'Go now' ", while British officials denied any explicit message existed. However, it was not clear when the attacks were planned to have been begun, and the "New York Times" has since reported that the plans were at an earlier stage than had been stated initially.
British authorities performed a total of 69 searches of residences, businesses, vehicles and open spaces, which found possible bomb-making equipment and chemicals including hydrogen peroxide, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said on 21 August 2006. "As well as the bomb-making equipment, we have found more than 400 computers, 200 mobile telephones and 8,000 items of removable storage media such as Memory Sticks, CDs and DVDs," he said. "So far, from the computers alone, we have removed some 6 terabytes of data." It will take "many months" for investigators to analyse all of the data, he said. Police said they found a list of flights on a memory stick belonging to Mr. Ali after his arrest. The memory stick listed scheduled flights from three carriers – American Airlines, United Airlines and Air Canada.
Disagreement over when to make the arrests.
NBC News reported disagreement between the United States and the United Kingdom over when to make the arrests. According to NBC News, a senior British official contended that an attack was not imminent, noting that the suspects had not yet purchased airline tickets and some did not even have passports; he had urged that the investigation continue to collect more evidence.
The same source also told NBC News that the United States had threatened to use extraordinary rendition on suspected ringleader Rashid Rauf in Pakistan, or to pressure the Pakistan government to arrest him. A United States official acknowledged disagreement over the timing of arrests and that British officials had believed that an attack was not imminent. However, Frances Townsend, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, denied the report of a dispute: "There was no disagreement between US and UK officials."
In Ron Suskind's book "The Way of the World" (2008), Vice President Dick Cheney is reported to have "ordered" the arrest of Rauf in Pakistan in August 2006, as an attempt to provide "good news" prior to the US 2006 mid-term elections.
The plot.
The plotters planned to use peroxide-based liquid explosives; the Metropolitan Police said that the plot involved acetone peroxide, (TATP), which is sensitive to heat, shock, and friction, and can be initiated with fire or an electrical charge, and can also be used to produce improvised detonators.
During the trial of the conspirators, the prosecution stated that each bomber would board a plane with the "necessary ingredients and equipment". They would then construct the devices mid-flight and detonate them. The hydrogen peroxide would be placed in 500 ml plastic bottles of the Oasis and Lucozade soft drinks. A sugary drink powder, Tang, would be mixed with the hydrogen peroxide to colour it to resemble a normal soft drink. Hydrogen peroxide is widely available for use as hair bleach and along with the other ingredients can become explosive if mixed to a specific strength. The mixture would be injected into the bottles with a syringe. The bottle's cap would not have been removed and the hole would have been resealed, thereby allowing the device to resemble a normal, unopened drink bottle when screened by airport security. The use of liquid explosives with dissolved powder is similar to the composition used in the 21 July 2005 London bombings, using hydrogen peroxide and chapati flour, activated by a detonator.
A second substance, a type of high explosive, would be hidden within an AA battery casing; this small explosive charge would detonate the main bomb. The charge would be detonated by linking the bottle of explosives to a light bulb and a disposable camera. The charge from the camera's flash unit would trigger the explosion.
On 28 August 2006 the "New York Times" reported that seven martyrdom tapes made by six suspects were recovered. This number was not confirmed by the prosecution during the subsequent trial.
Flights targeted.
Prosecutors at the court hearing said that the suspects had talked about including 18 suicide bombers and that they had examined Denver, Boston, and Miami as possible flight destinations to target along with the following flights, details of which they had put on USB flash drives.
All flights were departures from London Heathrow Airport, London.
Responsibility.
There was speculation in the UK that the militant Islamic organisation al-Qaeda could be organizing the plot, which, it was claimed, was scheduled to occur only weeks after the group threatened to attack British aviation. One of the suspects' martyrdom video was taken from a fatwa by Osama bin Laden. United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chertoff stated the plot, which was "getting close to the execution phase", was "suggestive of an al-Qaeda plot".
In their martyrdom tapes, the suspects quoted from the Quran, claimed they were seeking revenge for the foreign policy of the United States, and "their accomplices, the U.K. and the Jews" and hoped God would be "pleased with us and accepts our deed." It also called upon other Muslims to join jihad, and justified the killing of innocent civilians in Western countries.
Alleged Pakistani involvement.
Press reports claimed that the bombers were funded by "charities" intended to help victims of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. The FBI and Scotland Yard investigated links to militants and the flow of money to the conspirators. Pakistan and international press also reported that Rashid Rauf had links with the Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Kashmir militant group banned by several countries. Media reports state that he has close family ties to Maulana Masood Azhar, one of the most wanted criminals in India.
In Pakistan, law enforcement authorities interrogated Rashid Rauf, a Briton of Pakistani descent, over his alleged key role in the plot. Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said British police were conducting inquiries in Pakistan but were not involved in questioning Rauf. The UK Foreign Office sought Rauf's extradition from Pakistan, and it was reported that Pakistan planned to accept the request. However, in mid-December 2006, terrorism charges against Rauf were dropped by a Pakistani judge, who ruled there was a lack of evidence. Rauf's case was transferred from a terrorism court to a regular court where he was charged with lesser crimes including forgery. The charges were later dismissed. Rauf was reported killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan in November 2008.
Public announcement.
On 10 August 2006, British Home Secretary John Reid, broke the news, along with Douglas Alexander, the Transport Secretary. The same day, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Paul Stephenson, said that a plot, intended to destroy as many as ten aircraft in mid-flight from the United Kingdom to the United States using explosives brought on board in the suspects' hand luggage, had been disrupted. News media reported that planned targets included American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, and United Airlines flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick airports to Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles; Miami; Orlando; Boston; Newark; New York City; San Francisco; Cleveland and Washington, D.C. Air Canada flights were also included, with destinations being Montreal and Toronto. BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the plot involved a series of simultaneous attacks, targeting three planes each time. Reports vary regarding the number of planes involved, ranging from three to twelve. In a press release, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, said "multiple commercial aircraft" were targeted. Some reports say the attacks were planned for 16 August, but police said no evidence of any specific date had been found. British officials later stated that the estimate of ten aircraft was "speculative and exaggerated."
In the United States, the announcement was made during a joint press conference by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, the Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration Kip Hawley and the Director of the FBI, Robert Mueller. Chertoff refused to be drawn on questions about the design of the devices or whether any bombs had actually been built.
On the same day, President George W. Bush commented upon arrival in Wisconsin: "The recent arrests that our fellow citizens are now learning about are a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."
Prior to the arrests, the plot had been discussed at the highest levels of government; Prime Minister Tony Blair had known about it for months, and had discussed it with President George W. Bush on a number of occasions.
Responses.
Scepticism in response to the arrests.
Several commentators expressed