Islamofascist terrorists planned to blow up airliners travelling from the UK to the USA. The plot was thwarted when 21 "mainly young, Asian men" were arrested. Their plan was to smuggle liquid explosives aboard and detonate them mid-flight.The British have raised their terror alert level to the highest readiness indicating expecting immenent attack. We have raised our own alert status to "orange" for domestic flights and "red" for flights from Britain.
In "local" news, two men were arrested for money laundering in support of terrorism and these guys had passenger lists and information on security checkpoints with them. The AP reports:
Deputies stopped Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, 20, and Ali Houssaiky, 20, both of Dearborn, Mich., on a traffic violation Tuesday. They found the flight documents along with $11,000 cash and 12 phones in the car, said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks.These guys admit to having bought 600 phones in southeast Ohio, but they say they sold them to some guy in Dearborn, MI. Dearborn, by the way, is a hotbed for Islamofascist activity; but that is Debbie Schlussel's beat and nobody covers that better than her.
UPDATE 1: Three of the 11 Egyptian students that the FBI have been looking for have been found. They were supposed to attend Montana State University but one was found in Minnesota and the other two turned themselves in in New Jersey. That is kind of far from where they were supposed to be...
UPDATE 2 (9:45AM) - AP News Alert:
BOSTON (AP) Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says he will activate the National Guard to help with security at Logan International Airport for the first time since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.Hmmm...at least one governor is taking this seriously. I actually think this bolsters Romney's credibility on national security issues.
UPDATE 3 (12:55PM) - AP News Alert:
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger activates National Guard troops to bolster security at California airports after London terror plot.This doesn't sound to me like this threat is "over" yet...
UPDATE 4 (2:30PM) - AP News Alert:
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) Two Pakistani officials say the country's intelligence service helped Britain to crack the aircraft terror plot.Ahh, the obligatory, "Hey! We're on YOUR side!" statement...
UPDATE 5 (4:00PM) - AP News Alert:
WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. intelligence officials say terrorists hoping to blow up as many as 10 airplanes had planned to stage a dry run within two days.This was a close one, folks.
Best Stories Thus Far:
BBC: "'Airlines terror plot' disrupted"
Sky News: "'Mass MurderTerror Plot'"
AP/Breitbart: "British Police Thwart Aircraft Bomb Plot"
Updates as the come available... Developing...
