|
==Investigation and arrests==
[[Image:New scotland yard.jpg|thumb|150px|Scotland Yard in London]]
Police said they had been observing this plot for months, and that the "investigation reached a critical point [on [[August 9]], [[2006]]] when the decision was made to take urgent action in order to disrupt what we believe was being planned."<ref name="BBC-statements"/> An undercover British agent had previously infiltrated the group, according to American government sources.<ref name="CNN">{{cite web|author=CNN.com|title=Agent infiltrated terror cell, U.S. says|publisher=CNN|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/08/10/us.security/index.html}}</ref>. Twenty-four people were arrested, 22 of them of Pakistani and one each of Iranian and Bangladeshi descent. <ref name ="spiegel-origin">{{cite web|author=Der Spiegel|title=Terroralarm in London|publisher=Der Spiegel|accessdate=August 11|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,431153,00.html}}</ref> One of the twenty-four has been released without charge.<ref name ="BBC-threatlevel">{{cite web|author=BBC News|title= UK threat level remains critical|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=August 11|accessyear=2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4783141.stm}}</ref> The [[United States Department of Homeland Security]] (DHS) believes that there could have been as many as 50 people involved.<ref name name="CNN-TV">CNN (US TV)</ref> Arrests were made in [[London]], [[Birmingham]], and [[High Wycombe]] in Buckinghamshire in an overnight operation. Two of the arrests were made in the Birmingham area, where firearms officers were not involved, and four were made in [[High Wycombe]].<ref name ="BBC-suspects">{{cite web|author=BBC News|title=Night-time swoops on suspects|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4779539.stm}}</ref> The [[BBC]] has reported that the key suspects involved in the plot are British born,<ref name="BBC-disrupted"/> and that three of the suspects are recent [[Religious conversion|converts]] to Islam.<ref name="TIME-converts">{{cite web|author=Jumana Farouky, TIME Magazine|title=Profiling the Suspects: Converts to Islam|publisher=BBC|accessdate=August 11|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1225687,00.html}}</ref><ref name ="BBC-suspects2">{{cite web|author=BBC News|title=Who are the terror plot suspects?|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=August 11|accessyear=2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4783215.stm}}</ref> Nasir Ahmed, a member of the [[House of Lords]], said that he had been told by the police that 21 of those arrested were British [[Muslim]]s.<ref>{{cite web|author=''[[The New York Times]]''|title=British Authorities Say Plot to Blow Up Airliners Was Foiled|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/world/europe/11terrorcnd.html?hp&ex=1155268800&en=13f881599701f2d5&ei=5094&partner=homepage}}</ref> Other sources, citing [[Nicolas Sarkozy]], say most of them were Pakistani citizens.<ref name ="spiegel-origin"> According to [[ABC News]], two arrests in [[Pakistan]] may have significantly increased the pace of the investigation.<ref name ="ABC News">{{cite web|author=ABC News|title=The Anatomy of a Foiled Plot in London|publisher=ABC News|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/08/the_anatomy_of_.html}}</ref> (These claims are not necessarily contradictory; it is possible to be [[Multiple citizenship|both]].)
In a press conference, British [[Home Secretary]] [[John Reid (UK politician)|John Reid]] stated that he believed the key suspects in the plot are in custody but does not rule out additional arrests.<ref>{{cite web|author=BBC.com|title= Police probe flights terror plot|publisher=BBC|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4780815.stm}}</ref> British police are searching for five additional suspects. <ref name ="BBC-assets">{{cite web|author=BBC News|title=Assets of terror suspects frozen|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=August 11|accessyear=2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4782347.stm}}</ref>
The BBC reported on [[11 August]] that seven suspects, including two British citizens, were being held in Pakistan .<ref>{{cite web|author=BBC News|title= Two Britons in Pakistan arrests |accessdate=August 11|accessyear=2006||url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4781925.stm}}</ref>. At least seven others were also arrested, according to Pakistani government sources .<ref>{{cite web|author=Breaking News|title= Seven arrested in Pakistan in relation to air terror plot|accessdate=August 11|accessyear=2006||url=http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/08/11/story271724.html}}</ref>.
Paul Beaver, a British terrorism expert, has said that it appears possible that the [[militant]] [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic]] organisation [[al-Qaeda]] was behind the plot, which comes only weeks after the group threatened to attack British aviation.<ref>{{cite web|author=Reuters UK|title=Police say foil plot to bomb aircraft|publisher=Reuters UK|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-08-10T070221Z_01_L10215465_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SECURITY-BRITAIN.xml}}</ref> United States [[DHS]] Secretary [[Michael Chertoff|Chertoff]] stated the plot was "getting close to the execution phase", and that it was "suggestive of an al-Qaeda plot".<ref name="CNN-SecurityChief">{{cite web|author=CNN.com|title= Security chief: Airline terror plot 'close to execution'|publisher=CNN|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/10/us.security/index.html}}</ref> It was not clear from press releases when these attacks were to have been launched.
One report suggests the plotters would use liquid/slurry explosives, chemically similar to solid explosives used in the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]] (see [[Organic peroxide]]), based on [[hydrogen peroxide]] and detonated by an improvised device incorporating a disposable [[camera flash]].<ref name="USNewsExplosives">{{cite web|author=usnews.com|title= Terror suspects planned to use liquid explosives to blow up planes|publisher=U.S.News|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060810/10london.htm}}</ref>
There are several different types of liquid or gel based explosives. Other news reports mention a peroxide-based explosive.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jennifer Quinn Esposito|title=Terror plotters hoped to use peroxide explosive to blow up jets|publisher=San Diego Union Tribune|accessdate=August 10|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/terror/20060810-1512-britain-terrorplot.html}}</ref> [[Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide]] is one peroxide-based high explosive in the form of a colorless, oily liquid at room temperature and pressure. It is related to [[acetone peroxide]], which is an old standby for terrorist organizations because it can be made from common household items.{{fact}}. United States authorities, the [[FBI]] and [[DHS]], identified two peroxide-based liquid explosives that could be used: triacetone triperoxide ([[TATP]]) or hexamethylene triperoxide diamine ([[HMTD]]). Peroxide-based liquid explosives "are sensitive to heat, shock, and friction, can be initiated simply with fire or electrical charge, and can also be used to produce improvised detonators... For example, TATP or HMTD may be placed in a tube or syringe body in contact with a bare bulb filament, such as that obtained from inside a Christmas tree light bulb, to produce an explosion."<ref> [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1225453,00.html?cnn=yes time.com]</ref>
==Political reaction==
|
