Oh yeah? This is The Times of London:
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Pakistani intelligence helped foil bombing plot
From Zahid Hussain in Islamabad, Steve Bird and agencies
Pakistani intelligence agencies helped the British authorities foil the terror plot to blow up aircraft travelling between Britain and America, highly placed sources in Pakistan said today.
The agencies have been working closely with British anti-terror police in monitoring the activities of the suspected terrorists for some time, many of whom have links with Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups, The Times has learnt.
Today Pakistani security forces put Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, leader of the outlawed Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, (LeT) under house arrest. The largest of the separatist groups fighting the Indian forces in Kashmir, the LeT has also been blamed by Indian authorities for last month's train bombings in Bombay which killed more than 200 people.
Throughout the night and early morning police carried out a series of raids in London, Buckinghamshire and Birmingham, arresting 21 people.
Three of the properties were in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and earlier this afternoon police extended their cordon around one of the homes, a three-bedroom semi-detached ex-council, and then evacuated people from nine homes in the street.
A spokeswoman from Scotland Yard said: "We have evacuated a small number of houses in High Wycombe as a precautionary measure."
Locals said that the family that had lived at the targeted home for the past 15-years included three sons and two daughters.
Neighbours said two of the brothers, who are both married, still live at the house with their wives, but a third brother no longer lives there.
Former friends said that the men used to be well known in the area but had not been seen very much in recent years.
Philip Redfern said: "They are very quiet, they keep themselves to themselves which is very strange because this is a very tight community.
"They were a few years older than me but we were in the same school.
"They used to go out and play football with us in the park when they were about 18 or 19; as time went on and we got a bit older we went our separate ways."
At another address in the area residents woke to find dozens of officers swarming outside their houses.
One man woke to find police had sealed off one of his neighbours’ homes. He said: "We’ve got loads of police over the road. My wife was going out to work and she said: ‘There’s loads of police out there.’ They’ve sealed off the house."
timesonline.co.uk
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This is BBC:
Police probe flights terror plot
Police at a house in High Wycombe
Police raided a house in High Wycombe and evacuated residents
Police statement
Homes and businesses across England are being searched and 21 people questioned after police say a plot to blow up planes from the UK to US was disrupted.
They say they are convinced they have the key players in custody, but a wider investigation is only just beginning.
Peter Clarke, the head of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch, said the network involved was large and global.
And US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the plot was "in some respects suggestive of al-Qaeda".
Security chiefs, who had had the group under surveillance for some time, said they were close to putting their plan - which police said would have caused "mass murder on an unimaginable scale" - into action.
Sources in the UK have confirmed that they believe an attack may have been imminent - possibly in the next few days.
They were in the final stages of planning for execution
Michael Chertoff
US homeland security
21 arrested in raids
At-a-glance: Travel advice
"They had accumulated and assembled the capabilities that they needed and they were in the final stages of planning for execution," Mr Chertoff said.
Security experts believe they planned to detonate liquid explosives on up to nine planes.
They would have smuggled it on board hidden in drinks, electronic devices and other "common objects".
At UK airports on Thursday - with the country on its highest terror alert of "critical" - bottles of water were taken from passengers and mothers asked to taste their babies' milk before it could be taken onto flights.
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Readers describe disruptions
Mr Clarke said the surveillance involved in disrupting the plot had been "unprecedented" and had involved police forces in the UK and internationally.
It had only become apparent in the "last two weeks" that the target of the flights was the US, said Mr Chertoff.
Sources told the BBC the "principal characters" suspected of being involved in the plot were British-born, and some have links to Pakistan.
The suspects were rounded up in raids in London, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and Birmingham. All are being held in London.
Searches continue at several addresses and people were evacuated from some homes in High Wycombe in Thursday.
Meanwhile, chaos continues at UK airports with Heathrow the worst affected.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled and many more delayed.
Passengers who do make it onto flights, are not allowed to take any hand luggage with them.
Stephen Nelson, chief executive of airport operator BAA, said it was the first time that airports had "faced a security mandate of this scale and severity".
And Heathrow chief executive Tony Douglas said there would "inevitably" be delays at the airport on Friday and passengers should arrive prepared.
Home Secretary John Reid said the government was "confident" the ring leaders were in custody but it was not complacent.
He said had the plot been successful, it would have meant "loss of life on an unprecedented scale".
Prime Minister Tony Blair, on holiday in the Caribbean, paid tribute to the police and the security services.
US President George W Bush said the alleged plot was 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."
news.bbc.co.uk
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This is the Scotsman:
Murderous plot to blasts jets from the sky
NICK HODGSON
POLICE have foiled a major plot to blow up planes over the UK with explosive devices smuggled on board as hand luggage.
Terrorists planned to destroy several passengers jets bound for the United States causing "untold death and destruction", according to police.
Anti-terror officers arrested 21 people in London, the Thames Valley and Birmingham overnight as stringent new security measures were imposed on all UK airports.
Armed police were on patrol as all travellers were searched and banned from taking any hand luggage on board flights. Only the barest essentials - including passports and wallets - were allowed to be carried on board in transparent plastic bags.
The new measures led to chaos for passengers as flights were cancelled and delayed across the country. Heathrow was closed to incoming flights and passengers were urged not to travel unless essential.
The security measures led to speculation that liquid explosives may have been used as part of a plot which could have been missed by airport X-ray machines.
It was reported that up to ten planes might have been targeted in simultaneous attacks over UK and American cities. Airports in the US have also been put on high alert.
MI5 has raised the UK threat level to critical - the highest level possible. Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said: "We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and to commit, quite frankly, mass murder.
"We believe that the terrorists' aim was to smuggle explosives on to aeroplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in flight."
He added: "This is a major operation, which will inevitably be lengthy and complex.
"The United Kingdom is now at the highest possible level of alert."
Sources in the US reported that three airlines - United, Continental and American - were to be targeted in the foiled plot.
Authorities there believe that dozens of people, possibly as many as 50, were involved or connected to the plot.
The plan "had a footprint to al-Qaida back to it," the source said.
The majority of those arrested early today were understood to be of British Pakistani origin. Searches were ongoing at a number of addresses.
Home Secretary John Reid said the plot represented "a major threat to the UK and international partners", designed to "bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions, causing a considerable loss of life".
Prime Minister Tony Blair is on holiday in the Caribbean, but Downing Street said the police operation was undertaken with his full support and he had been "in constant touch".
A spokesman for Number 10 added that Mr Blair had briefed US President George Bush on the situation during the night. It is believed the covert investigation has been going on for several months and it is understood that officers made the arrests overnight not because they feared an attack was likely to happen today but for other intelligence reasons which meant they had to act quickly.
Mr Reid said: "At 2am this morning the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised the UK threat state to its highest level - critical."
He added: "This is a precautionary measure. We are doing everything possible to disrupt any further terrorist activity." Mr Stephenson told a press conference that the major investigation into the plot was ongoing.
"We have been very successful in arresting those we were targeting. This is a lengthy investigation and no doubt there will be further developments.
"This is an operation that's been going on for some considerable time and we moved in because we thought it was the right thing to do in terms of reducing and minimising crime to the public."
He would not discuss how many planes police believe were being targeted in the alleged plot, saying only "that is something the operation will continue to investigate."
He concluded: "This is not about communities, this is about criminals, murderers, people who want to commit mass murder. This is not about anything to do with any particular community.
"This is about people who might masquerade within the community behind certain faiths... this is about people - desperate, desperate people - who want to do things that no right-minded citizen of this country, or any other country, would want to tolerate."
All UK airports were experiencing major delays today as the extra security measures were put into place.
Passengers were told they could take a few items such as passports, medicines and nappies on board in a clear plastic bag.
All passengers must be hand-searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be X-ray-screened.
Parents were even told to taste their baby's milk in front of security staff before being allowed on board.
Flights to Britain with Lufthansa, Iberia, Olympic, KLM and Air France were cancelled.
Heathrow cancelled all incoming short-haul flights (those from the UK and Europe), and British Airways had to axe more than 200 of the 550 flights it normally operates out of the London airport every day.
The Department for Transport said it was hoped that the extra security measures would be needed "for a limited period only".
A spokesman said: "All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing UK airports."
The spokesman added: "These additional security measures will make travel more difficult for passengers, particularly at such a busy time of the year. But they are necessary and will continue to keep flights from UK airports properly secure. If passengers have any questions on their travel arrangements or security in place at airports they should contact their airline or carrier."
No special security measures were in place on the railways today as the trains dealt with an increased number of passengers.
• Airline and travel shares were badly hit today as details emerged of the plot. British Airways fell six per cent, while low-cost rivals Ryanair and easyJet were down at least two per cent.
news.scotsman.com
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Now just where are th parnoid statements you claim are there? |
