ISI involved in foiling UK terror attack

[Awesome]

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http://www.sabcnews.com/world/europe...132803,00.html

Pakistan's intelligence service helped British security agencies foil a plot to blow up several aircraft flying between Britain and the United States, a senior Pakistani official said today.

"Pakistan actively co-operated to make this happen," the official said on condition of anonymity. "There was very close co-operation between the intelligence agencies of the two countries."

The official said action was being taken in Pakistan, but would not confirm whether any arrests had been made in the country. - Reuters

[Sid]

Pakistan has once again proved beyond doubt that it remains committed to its pivotal role in the War on Terror by helping diffuse this terror threat which according to British Agencies would have been a massive attack leading to unprecedented loss of live and destruction.

Keep it up fellaz! Go home tonight and have that extra hour of sleep as you've just helped save a lot of lives.

[Spring Onion]

that is great. NO doubt ISI is capable of handling things its just matter of time.

BT lets see how Anti-Pakistan elements jump or certainly jumped already to exploite this postive development as propoganda agains us.

[melb4aust]

The media is going bizarre out here like something very very big happened.
Agian trying to turn the attention of viewers from middle-east bloodshed:@, this could be another turning point to the crisis. On the other hand muslims community is protesting here in Sydney, after George.W. Bush's speech about clearly stating and claiming the "war against Islam". He used the word "Islam" this time instead of "terrorism".

So who was claiming that the media is unbiased?

[Awesome]

Let's remind ourselves what George W. Bush said 5 days after september 11:

This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.

-- George W. Bush September 16th, 2001

As we all know the Crusades are Medieval Christianity's wars against Islam in which they suffered successive losses mostly.

And of course how can we forget the crazy guy talk:

God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.
-- June 27th, 2003, George W. bush

I think there are Pakistanis amongst those arrested. See how that gets more publicity than the fact we helped em get caught!

[melb4aust]

Let's remind ourselves what George W. Bush said 5 days after september 11:


-- George W. Bush September 16th, 2001

As we all know the Crusades are Medieval Christianity's wars against Islam in which they suffered successive losses mostly.

And of course how can we forget the crazy guy talk:

God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.
-- June 27th, 2003, George W. bush

I think there are Pakistanis amongst those arrested. See how that gets more publicity than the fact we helped em get caught!

The publicity has already started:read: , 18 Pakistanis are among those 23 arrested ones. According to UK officials all "home grown terrorists".

[Tiki Tam Tam]

I wonder where the terrorists got their training and who trained them.

That is more important than a few nabbed and hung, if you will.

That won't stop the home grown terrorists tumbling out of the woodwork.

The woodwork requires termite treatment.

[Awesome]

Saw this on the main Google News page. Welcome stuff:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/11/news/terror.php

Pakistan arrests helped thwart attack on planes
By Eric Pfanner International Herald Tribune

Published: August 11, 2006

A Pakistani connection to an alleged terror plot to blow up multiple airliners flying from Britain to the United States grew clearer Friday as the British authorities revealed the names of 19 suspects arrested the previous day and Pakistan said it had played a key role in breaking "this terrorist network."

Britain remained on its top level of alert - critical - as the investigation continued. Questions remained unanswered, including what the authorities meant Thursday when they said that the alleged terrorists had been planning "mass murder on an unimaginable scale."

A Pakistani government official said the authorities there had arrested "several" suspects, including Pakistanis and Britons, over the last 10 days or so, setting in motion a chain of events that led the British police to pounce on a total of 24 suspects in England early Thursday.

"Pakistan played a very a significant role in breaking this terrorist network," said Tasnim Aslam, a spokeswoman for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, in Islamabad. She said the investigation was continuing, and declined to comment on reports that additional suspects might still be at large in Pakistan or elsewhere. While news agencies reported seven arrests in Pakistan, she said the number might be higher.

"We obviously have leads, but we don't want to compromise the investigation," she added.

Officials say the suspects had been plotting to set off liquid explosives aboard passenger planes. Strict new regulations prohibiting liquids in cabin luggage remained in effect in many parts of the world, and in Britain carry- on bags were still banned altogether.

Traffic at London Heathrow Airport remained sluggish Friday morning after the imposition of the extra security measures.

Details of the plot remained sketchy even as officials released the names of 19 of the 24 suspects arrested Thursday. The suspects, who range in age from 17 to 35, have addresses in London, Birmingham and High Wycombe, a town about 80 kilometers, or 50 miles, northwest of London, in Buckinghamshire. All the names appeared to be of Muslim origin; the suspects are all said to have been born on British soil.

According to reports, some of the suspects may have had links to Pakistan, perhaps from parents who immigrated to England. Newspapers reported that at least one of the suspects, however, may have been a white Briton who converted to Islam.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police of London, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to confirm those reports, or to comment on whether the police thought other suspects remained at large.

"In an investigation of this size, it's unlikely that they have even been questioned yet," he said of the suspects. Under British antiterrorism laws, the suspects can be held for up to 28 days without charge.

A spokesman for the Treasury, which instructed the Bank of England to release the 19 names and to instruct banks to freeze their assets, declined to comment further on the Treasury's action. It was not immediately clear why the names of the five other people being held were not released.

The links to Pakistan suggest that the alleged plotters fit a similar profile to some of the suicide bombers who killed 52 people on the London Underground on July 7, 2005. Three of the four bombers were of Pakistani descent.

Officials have said the plot to destroy up to 10 planes flying from British airports to the United States bore the hallmark of Al Qaeda, though they have provided few concrete details.

The Associated Press quoted a U.S. law enforcement official in Washington as saying that at least one martyrdom tape was found during raids across England on Thursday. Such tapes are often used by Al Qaeda. The orchestrated nature of the alleged plot also suggests the involvement of the terrorist group, officials say, given that Al Qaeda favors spectacular actions like the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

At Heathrow, about 70 percent of scheduled flights were said to operating Friday, but travelers faced a second day of delays and disruptions as the authorities continued the extraordinary security measures imposed Thursday.

Travelers are not allowed any hand luggage beyond a few personal items like wallets and passports. Even baby milk must be tasted in front of security officials by an accompanying passenger.

Plan suspected as 'dry run'

Alan Cowell and Dexter Filkins of The New York Times reported from London:

An American counterterrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said several of the plotters had traveled to Pakistan in the last few weeks and might have met there with at least one person affiliated with Al Qaeda.

The official said it was after that person's arrest by the Pakistani authorities that the British, fearing that word of the detainment would send the plotters into hiding, decided to move in.

This is the latest in a series of conspiracies apparently rooted in the disaffection of young, British-born Muslims, many of Pakistani descent, who cast themselves as part of a jihadist struggle against Britain, which they see as an outrider of the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Lebanon.

It also mimicked a failed plot in the Philippines in 1995 financed by Osama bin Laden to blow up airplanes over the Pacific. That ended when the chemicals exploded at an apartment in Manila.

On Thursday, Britain raised its terror threat assessment by one notch to its highest level, "critical," meaning an attack was imminent.

The American official said the plotters had been planning a "dry run" of the operation in the next few days when they planned to test whether they could board flights simultaneously. If this had worked, a full-scale attack would have been carried out within days, the official said.

British police officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of their customary procedures, said the attacks had not been planned for Thursday.

One American official said the attack was not imminent. "I would caution about how close it was," he said. "They had materials, but it wasn't like they were driving out to the airport the next day. They identified a number of flights."

Peter Clarke, London's top counterterrorism police officer, said, "The intelligence suggested that the devices were to be constructed in the United Kingdom and taken through British airports."

But he also said that some unspecified event or development late Wednesday convinced British counterterrorism operatives that they must move quickly to thwart a conspiracy with what he called "global dimensions."

In recent days, the U.S. FBI had sent hundreds of agents around the United States to chase down possible leads from British intelligence sources.

"There is no indication as of now that anyone in the U.S. was tied to this," a senior Justice Department official said.

Michael Chertoff, the U.S. secretary for homeland security, said the attackers had planned to carry explosive material and detonation components "disguised as beverages, electronic devices and other common objects" onto the planes.

A bulletin issued Thursday by the FBI about the plot gave details of some of the properties of liquid-peroxide- based explosives. It noted that they were sensitive to "heat, shock and friction."

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Asim,

The word "Crusade" in modern english language does not mean the medieval crusade alone.

It also means "vigorous, concerted action for some cause or idea, or against some abuse".

[Neo]

Pakistan names key Al-Qaeda suspect arrested over bomb plot

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan has named a British national with suspected links to Al-Qaeda that was earlier arrested over a plot to blow up multiple airliners in Britain.

"A key person arrested is British national Rashid Rauf," the Pakistan foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The statement also said "there are indications of (an) Afghanistan based Al-Qaeda connection."
Pakistani authorities had earlier said they had arrested seven people over the plot to blow up multiple airliners, including two British nationals who were allegedly key players in the terror scheme.

The Britons, both of Pakistani descent, were seized last week and provided vital information that helped to bust the plot while five local militant "facilitators" were arrested separately, officials said.

British Home Secretary John Reid thanked Pakistan for its assistance after the arrests, which Islamabad said were part of a coordinated operation with British and US intelligence.

"One of the suspects was arrested in Karachi and another was arrested in Lahore. Both the men were British nationals of Pakistani origin and were key members of the Britain-based network of militants," a senior Pakistani government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The arrests in Pakistan were made prior to the action in London. They were in full knowledge of the plot to blow up the airliners and the information was passed on to Britain and US intelligence," the official added.

Foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Pakistan "played a very important role in uncovering and breaking this international terrorist network. There were some arrests in Pakistan which were coordinated with arrests in the UK."

Pakistani agents also arrested a network of five domestic extremists in connection with the London plots, a security official said, saying they had acted as "facilitators" for the Britons.

Another security official said late Thursday that at least three of the people arrested in Pakistan had links to Al-Qaeda.

London's Guardian newspaper quoted a British government source as saying that an intercepted message from Pakistan telling the bombers to "go now" had triggered the arrests.

Pakistan stepped up security at its own airports Friday following Britain's announcement that it had thwarted a plot to wreak "mass murder" by simultaneous bombings of planes bound for the United States.

Authorities were also investigating some financial transactions made by an unnamed foreign Muslim welfare group to at least a dozen branches of banks in Karachi and northwestern Peshawar city, a security official.

The Bank of England, Britain's central bank, said Friday it had frozen the accounts of 19 of 24 men arrested in Britain on Thursday over the allegations, and publicly released their names.

Separately ABC News quoting Pakistani officials identified the ringleader of the bomb plot as Matiur Rehman, said to be a 29-year-old Al-Qaeda commander accused of involvement in plots to kill President Pervez Musharraf.

He was said to be missing along with five others, ABC said, adding that Rehman was known to be planning a "terror spectacular" to mark the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States.


Al-Qaeda has already been fingered as a possible culprit behind the plot. Pakistan has arrested dozens of Al-Qaeda militants, including the capture three years ago of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11.
But Musharraf has faced international criticism for failing to crack down on militancy, despite surviving three assassination attempts by extremists linked to Al-Qaeda.

Pakistan came under pressure after the July 7, 2005 suicide attacks on the London transport system when it emerged that some of the British-born bombers had attended Islamic religious schools, or madrassas, here.
However, Britain's Reid thanked Pakistan for its help in uncovering the airliner plot.
"We are very grateful for all the help and cooperation we have received from our international partners, including Pakistan, and I would like to thank them for the assistance they have given us," he told a news conference in London.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060811...t_060811163721

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Good show.

Good to know that Pak sleuths are informing the US and UK intel.

[Neo]

Good show.

A reality show.

Good to know that Pak sleuths are informing the US and UK intel.

Its not the first time, Pakistan has been sharing vital info with both countries for a while saving hundreds, maybe thousand of lives.
I read somewhere in yahoonews that an arrest made in Pakistan last week is connected to the current plot.

[Neo]

Britain's Reid thanks Pakistan for help


LONDON - Home Secretary John Reid said Friday that Britain was grateful for Pakistan's cooperation in breaking up a suspected plot to attack U.S.-bound aircraft.

Pakistani officials have said two Britons were arrested last week, and that five Pakistanis have been detained on suspicion of "facilitating" the plot.
Reid told a news conference that although officials believe the main suspects are in custody, the U.K. threat level remains "critical," the highest level.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060811/...or_plot_reid_1

[Neo]

Pakistan, Britain, US probe airline terror plot

LONDON (updated on: August 11, 2006, 20:09 PST): Intelligence agents, police and government officials forged ahead on three continents on Friday to unravel an alleged plot by suspected suicide bombers to blow up US-bound aeroplanes.

The British-led investigation, in co-ordination with the authorities in the United States and Pakistan, was trying to glean clues by interrogating 31 suspects, searching bank accounts and carrying out raids on property.

Building a pile of evidence needed to bring convictions, the police would benefit from raids in which they may have seized explosives and a "martyrdom video," recorded by a suspect preparing for a suicide attack, according to reports which British police refused to confirm.

British officials allege the suspects plotted to blow up a number of planes bound for the United States in mid-air by boarding them at British airports with explosives made here and concealed in hand luggage.

US officials added that they intended to use liquid explosives, though this was not confirmed here.

A US intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the alleged plot had targeted United Airlines, American Airlines and Continental Airlines flights to New York, Washington and Los Angeles, and possibly other major hubs such as Boston and Chicago.

British officials added that the investigation was launched months ago and could last well into the future.

The Washington Post reported that the first whiff of the alleged plot came after the July 7, 2005 bombings of three London underground trains and a bus, which killed 56 people, including the four bombers.

The Post said a member of the Muslim community tipped off British authorities to the suspicious activities of an acquaintance.

Eventually several hundred investigators monitored suspects on three continents, the US daily said, adding that British officials believe as many as 50 accomplices may have been involved.

Some of the suspects travelled between Britain and Pakistan to raise money, recruit people and refine their schemes, US and European counter-terrorism officials told the daily.

Some of the British suspects arrested had made calls to the United States, a US intelligence source told the Post.

Pakistani authorities said on Friday that two Britons, both of Pakistani origin, were seized last week along with five local militant "facilitators" and that they provided key information that helped to bust the scheme.

Islamabad said the arrests were part of a co-ordinated operation with British and US intelligence.

The official said the British suspects did not have a known history of having links to Al Qaeda or any other militant group here.

Another security official said late on Thursday that at least three of the people arrested in Pakistan had links to Al Qaeda.

Separately ABC News quoting Pakistani officials identified the ringleader of the bomb plot as Matiur Rehman, said to be a 29-year-old Al Qaeda commander accused of involvement in plots to kill President Pervez Musharraf.

He was said to be missing along with five others, ABC said, adding that Rehman was known to be planning a "terror spectacular" to mark the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Al Qaeda has already been fingered as a possible culprit behind the plot, with US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff saying the operation bore the hallmarks of the group.

The Bank of England, Britain's central bank, said on Friday it had frozen the accounts of 19 of 24 men arrested in Britain over the allegations, and publicly released their names.

[Tiki Tam Tam]

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A reality show.


Its not the first time, Pakistan has been sharing vital info with both countries for a while saving hundreds, maybe thousand of lives.
I read somewhere in yahoonews that an arrest made in Pakistan last week is connected to the current plot.

Six months ago, an Uzbek terrorist had been captured in Karachi by the ISI and he spilt the beans. Ever since, all this guys were under surveillance. Only now, the team has been given the go ahead. In fact, 48 hours before that they were to do a dry run with the liquid explosives!

Also the Lashkar e Dawa chap has been locked up so that he does not create a nuisance of himself.