London, September 07: Three Britons were found guilty on Monday of plotting to kill thousands of people by blowing up transatlantic airliners bound for North America, in mid-flight suicide attacks using bombs made from liquid explosives.
The suspected al Qaeda plot, just days from being put into operation according to British detectives, had huge worldwide ramifications leading to tight restrictions on the amount of liquids passengers could take on board aircraft.
Four other men were found not guilty of the plot and the jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of an eighth suspect, Britain’s Press Association reported.
The bombers intended to simultaneously destroy at least seven planes carrying over 200 passengers each between London’s Heathrow airport and the United States and Canada in August 2006 using explosives hidden in soft drink bottles, prosecutors said.
Once aboard, the authorities would have been powerless to stop their plan from being put into action.
But the conspirators were caught following the largest surveillance operation carried out by British police.
“If they had been successfully deployed, they would have killed thousands of people on board and maybe more if they had detonated them over land,” said a senior British police source, speaking on condition on anonymity.
U.S. officials have said the carnage would have been as horrific as the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that killed 3,000 people and had huge repercussions for the aviation industry.
—Agencies