Britain on ‘Red Alert’

 

On August 11, 2006, British police foiled the worst airline terrorist plot since the fatal September 11. Had they not uncovered the suspected plot, police fear that it would have caused mass murder on an unimaginable scale. It is believed that the suspects were just a few days from making a dummy run, and possibly only a few more days before they carried out the real terror attack. If they had succeeded in taking down multiple aeroplanes, carrying hundreds of people, it would have a catastrophic loss of innocent lives.

It is believed that al-Qaeda may have been involved in the plan to hide explosive gel or liquid in a sports drink bottle. The plan was for the terrorist to dye the explosive liquid red to match the sports drink sealed in the top half of the bottle. The bottom half would have been a false compartment to hide the explosive gel. The detonator they intended to use was possibly as simple as an innocent flash from a disposable camera. The aim was to blow up planes while in the air, rather than attack any individual city. The plot involved flights to an undetermined number of US cities, which included New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston.

England was immediately put on ‘red alert’ and security was tightened on British airports. There was mass chaos as flights were cancelled, security measures increased and all hand luggage was banned. Passengers, whose flights were permitted to leave, were told that they could only take on board the bare essentials such as passports and wallets, which had to be carried in a clear plastic bag.

British police started an immediate search of houses where suspected terrorists lived, and around 24 people were taken into custody for further questioning. The arrests were a culmination of a major covert counter-terrorist operation which had been going on for several months, and it is thought that the subsequent investigations will be very complex and lengthy. The country’s terrorist alert was immediately raised to maximum level – critical – and New Scotland Yard said that Britain was definitely facing its most serious threat of a terror attack.