Police: Plot to Blow up Aircraft Foiled

Well, the big story today obviously the uncovering of a plan to bring terror once again to the friendly skies.

British police say they have arrested 21 people in connection with a terrorist plot to blow up aircraft flying from the United Kingdom to the United States.

The plot was “intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale,” Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said. The UK’s threat warning level has been raised to “critical” — meaning “an attack is expected imminently.”

[…]

The plot involved hiding liquid explosives in carry-on luggage, and six to 10 flights would have been targeted, U.S. officials said.

A senior U.S. congressional source said it is believed the plotters were to carry a “British version of Gatorade” onto the planes and then mix it with a gel-like substance. The explosives were to be triggered by an iPod or a cell phone, the source said.

Some flights would have been heading from the UK to New York, Washington D.C. and California, the officials said.

The plot involved Continental, United, and American Airlines, according to an administration official who noted that the list was not exclusive.

The intelligence that uncovered the plot “makes very strong links to al Qaeda,” a senior U.S. administration official told CNN. The official said it is believed the plot was close to being operational.

Later, CNN updated the number arrested to 24 and credits the information that led to the raids to infiltration by an undercover agent.

British and Pakistani authorities teamed up to thwart the attacks, and 24 men were arrested in overnight raids in Britain, authorities said.

An undercover British agent infiltrated the group, giving the authorities intelligence on the alleged plan, several U.S. government officials said.

The men had not bought plane tickets, the officials said, but they were in the process of perusing the Internet to find flights to various cities that had similar departure times.

If you’re playing catch up this story, I’d recommend starting at Outside the Beltway, where James Joyner has put together a wealth of reports, links, videos and updates.

After that, I’d suggest Texas Rainmaker, where Jason has done some interesting pondering in a one-man attempt to connect some possibly-related dots.