UK/US Terror Plot Foiled

from CNN

Terrorists were in the final stages of planning to blow up planes heading to the United States from Britain. The plans were suggestive of an al Qaeda plot. British police said they had arrested 21 suspects in the plot to blow up passenger jets flying between the United Kingdom and the United States. The plot was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale.

Details:

The U.S. raised the terror threat level to "severe" for all flights leaving Britain for the United States. Britain raised its alert level to "critical."

The plot involved hiding liquid explosives in carry-on luggage, U.S. officials said, and passengers at all U.S. and British airports are banned from taking any liquids onto planes. British police are also banning passengers from carrying electronic key fobs, which have the potential to trigger bombs.

The plot targeted Continental, United, British Airways and American Airlines flights to New York, Washington and California. Six to 10 flights were targeted. U.S. and British officials said some suspects could still be on the loose and their investigations were continuing. Police said they were still raiding businesses and homes

Flights were canceled or delayed at airports across Europe and the United States as the new security measures produced massive lines at airports. In a sign of the heightened security, the U.S. is dispatching extra air marshals to Britain.

British investigators are telling the U.S. that terrorists planned to get on board with liquid substances that when mixed could be turned into something that could be detonated. British and U.S. security agencies quickly moved to impose strict limits on carry-on items in the wake of the arrests, causing extended delays at airport security checkpoints. The British Airports Authority said no hand luggage would be allowed onto planes leaving British airports until further notice.